Small Eternities
by Cyanne
Summary: **FINISHED** A clandestine target practice has disastrous results for Keith and Allura, and events are set in motion that will alter their lives forever.
1. The Going

Disclaimer: Voltron and its characters are the property of World Events  
Productions. All rights reserved. Done for no profit whatsoever. Cyann Miller  
and General Aldran belong to me.  
  
Introduction  
February, 2002: What follows is a revised version of my original "Small  
Eternities, Part 1: The Going." I have made some minor changes to reflect my  
changing ideas about the story and the characters in the five years since it was  
first written. Most of the changes made were necessary to foreshadow events  
in Parts 2 and 3, most of which I had not even imagined when I began Part  
One. Like many writers, I literally came up with this story page by page, and  
thus Parts 2 and 3 have turned out very different from Part 1. This reposting is  
an attempt to establish a little more continuity between the three sections.  
However, the story is essentially the same. I hope you still enjoy it. --SG  
  
P.S. Just to refresh everyone's memory: "speech,"   
  
  
SMALL ETERNITIES  
by Saturn Girl  
  
Part One: The Going  
  
Allura's alarm went off at three-forty-five. With a soft groan, she leaned over to turn  
it off, started to lean back, then caught herself when she remembered why it had gone off  
in what seemed like the middle of the night, more than two hours before regular lion  
practice. She quickly shoved the covers off and stood up in the dark room, feeling a tingle  
in her stomach as she reached for her pink flight suit.  
When she had dressed, Allura went to the mirror to pin up her hair. She gazed at  
her reflection critically as she twisted her hair into its usual tight topknot. She adjusted the  
angle of her tiara and went to the washroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. When  
she emerged, the clock read 4:05.   
Keith would be waiting for her.   
The princess retrieved her blaster, which she had carefully hidden beneath her bed  
the night before, checked her appearance one more time, and hurried out the door.  
She stole quietly through the corridor, only too conscious of her three teammates  
sleeping behind the doors she passed, and allowed herself a small smile of triumph when  
she arrived at the rec room without incident.  
Her captain was sitting in his usual chair, sipping a cup of coffee. When the door  
slid open to admit Allura, he looked up and smiled.  
"Morning, Princess," Keith said amiably. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd  
decided to sleep in after all."  
"Well, better late than never, right?" Allura replied, smiling back. "Ready?"  
"When you are." He rose.  
"Then let's go." Allura moved toward the door.  
"Hey Princess?"  
She turned. "Yes?"  
"Don't take this the wrong way, but what do you say to working on some aerial  
targets as well this morning?"  
"Are you implying that my air shots need as much work as my ground aim?" Allura  
inquired huffily.  
"I didn't say that," Keith protested, raising his hands in innocence. "I just thought,  
as long as we were taking the lions . . . "  
Allura shrugged. "You're the captain. Come on, let's get out of here before  
everybody wakes up."  
"As you wish, Princess."  
  
Allura began keying the startup code as soon as her shuttle landed her in the blue  
lion. She heard the robot lion roar as its systems came online, and felt the usual thrill of  
excitement. She adjusted power intake, took hold of the steering column, and launched the  
blue lion from its watery cavern in the depths of Lake Serenity.  
With a glorious splash, the lion broke the surface of the lake and soared into the  
still-dark sky. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the black lion, hovering in mid-air,  
come to join her. "What took you so long, Princess?" she heard Keith remark teasingly.  
"Oh, be quiet," Allura shot back, fighting to keep her delighted smile from  
permeating her words. It was the kind of thing Lance would have said, a gentle, affectionate  
tease. Allura loved to be teased by Keith, who was usually so serious.  
On the intership monitor, she could see that Keith was smiling as well. "Sorry,  
Princess. Set course for the target field."  
Both lions put on an extra burst of speed and headed for a large meadow where the  
team held their weekly target practice. The practices were only held once a week because,  
with the exception of Allura, everyone on the Voltron Force had perfect--or near-perfect--  
aim. It always made Allura feel bad, not being equally skilled, and she was grateful for this  
extra practice.  
The meadow was only a few miles away, so within minutes the lions reached the  
large field and touched down gently on the dewy grass. Quickly, Allura removed her  
helmet, made sure she had her blaster, opened the top hatch of the blue lion and pulled  
herself out.  
She looked across the meadow, and saw Keith scrambling out of his lion. He, too,  
had removed his helmet, and his long black hair blew gently in the early morning breeze.   
Allura felt her heart stir. As if he sensed her eyes upon him, Keith looked back across the  
meadow at her. Their eyes met, and Allura quickly dropped her gaze.  
"So," she called across the field. "Shall we switch lions now?"  
"One thing at a time, Princess. Let's work on your aim first."  
Allura gritted her teeth as she made her way carefully to the ground. "Keith, you  
promised to let me have a try on Black Lion today!"  
"I know, but--"  
"I hope you're not stalling again, Keith." The Princess crossed her arms over her  
chest, looking petulant. "Are you really so protective of your black lion that you can't trust  
me to take care of it?"  
"Not at all," Keith replied, though he seemed to have trouble meeting her eyes. "It's  
just that...Black Lion isn't easy to handle, and I want to you to be absolutely comfortable  
with yourself before--"  
"All right, all right," she interrupted, blinking away tears of frustration. "Let's work on my  
aim, then, but promise me you'll at least let me sit in the command seat!" She knew the  
sarcasm was unnecessary, but she couldn't help it.  
"Princess, I'm not underestimating you." Keith voice was quiet and even. "You're a  
far better pilot than even you know. But it's my responsiblity as your captain to keep you  
from doing too much before you're ready--I need each and every member of my team in  
one piece, ready for anything, and you know why."  
"I know, Keith," she grumbled, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry for pestering you."  
He shook his head. "I never think of it that way, Princess." Then he grinned at her.  
"Shall we?"  
They walked over to the practice area, where several lines were painted on the  
grass, at ten foot intervals, marking the various shooting distances.   
"I left the targets up from last time," Keith told her. "Is a hundred feet too much?"  
"Not at all," she replied, still a trifle testily.  
"I didn't mean it that way."  
"A hundred feet is fine."  
They moved to the appointed reference point, a well-worn patch of grass. Allura  
glanced across the field at the red and white bulls-eye target.   
"Did you remember to put blanks in?" Keith asked.  
"Yes, Nanny." Why did everyone seem to think she was an airhead?  
"All right, fire when ready."  
Allura raised her arm and fired a quick shot. The target showed no visible damage.  
"Try it again," said Keith.  
She took aim again, squinted at the target, and fired. Another miss. And another.  
"What am I doing wrong, Keith?"   
"You're giving it too much weight," Keith replied. "A good shot isn't a process, it's a  
reflex." Keith raised his own blaster. His expression did not change as he fired. Bulls-eye.  
"You make it look easy," Allura said, not without admiration.  
"It is easy, and you can do it." Keith dropped his arm. "Try again."  
Allura sighed and took aim. For a moment, she simply stared at the target. Then  
she fired. A small burn mark appeared on the edge.  
"Better," Keith said encouragingly.  
"Not for me," Allura countered with determination. "A shot like that wouldn't do me  
any good in a battle." She raised the weapon again, narrowing her eyes at the faraway red  
and white target. She pursed her lips in concentration and fired. The shot grazed the top  
of the target. She spat out a word she'd heard Lance use when he stubbed his toe.  
If Keith was surprised, he didn't show it. "Take it easy, Princess. You're still giving it  
too much weight. When you touch a hot iron, do you think before you pull your hand  
away?"  
"No."  
"The same thing applies to shooting a blaster. It's a simple action, a reflex. Aim,"  
he took aim, "focus," he scrutinized the target, "fire." Another perfect hit.  
Allura shook her head in wonder. Was there anything Keith couldn't do perfectly?   
She noticed that he was waiting for her to take another shot. She raised the blaster,  
sighted the center of the target, and pulled the trigger. A burn mark appeared in the left  
half. She dropped her arm in frustration.  
"You have to see the hit before you pull the trigger," Keith explained, forever  
patient. "Don't think about whether or not it will hit; in fact, don't think about anything. Just  
do it."  
Allura thought, sighting the target, A blemish appeared, a few  
inches to the left of center. She inhaled in surprise.  
"Good," Keith commented. "Try it again."  
Feeling more sure of herself, Allura took aim and fired again, trying to clear her  
thoughts. Miss.   
"You're still thinking too much. Let go, Princess."  
She stared at the target. , she thought quickly. Bulls-eye! She  
dropped her arm in surprise.  
"Excellent."  
Allura felt the corners of her mouth rise into a wide smile. "I did it," she said in  
amazement, looking at Keith.  
He was smiling as well. "I knew you could."  
"I wasn't even trying that time," Allura marveled.  
"Exactly," Keith replied with satisfaction. "That's what was holding you back."  
For the next hour, Allura fired again and again, missing most of the time, but  
scoring enough bulls-eyes to make Keith nod in approval. When he finally told her to take  
a break, Allura's wrist and shoulder were cramped with the strain. She switched the laser  
to her other hand and began to rotate her sore wrist. While she massaged the soreness  
out of her body, Keith took a few shots himself, switching hands and scoring perfect hits  
every time. Allura watched with admiration as she rubbed her stiff shoulder. "You look like  
you don't need to practice at all," she remarked enviously.  
"But I do practice," Keith replied without turning, "because it's better to be prepared  
for nothing than caught off guard." After another five shot volley of perfect hits, he lowered  
the gun and faced her. "You're getting much better."  
"Maybe, but it'll be quite a while until I'm up to the level of the rest of the team,"  
Allura replied glumly.   
"Don't talk like that. Hunk, Pidge, Lance and I were trained at the Space Academy  
for six years. You've been at this for barely two years and already you're scoring bulls-  
eyes at a hundred feet--not too shabby, Princess."  
Allura managed a small smile, somewhat embarrassed by the praise. "What time is  
it?"  
"Almost five-thirty. We should head back in about fifteen minutes."  
Allura nodded, gazing in the direction of the Castle of Lions. She frowned. "Keith, I  
can't see the Castle."  
He followed her gaze. A thick fog had obscured the faraway figure of the majestic  
Castle. Overhead, steel-gray clouds shifted ominously, as a surprisingly strong breeze  
ruffled the trees surrounding the field.  
"Looks like a storm's coming," Allura observed. "Do you think it'll hit us?"  
"Maybe." Keith was staring critically at the sky. "We may have to end practice a  
little early."  
"Fine with me," Allura answered. "I don't like the look of those clouds."  
"At any rate," Keith continued, gazing at the opening of a forest about fifty feet away  
from where they were standing, "we should probably get away from--"  
An earsplitting crash drowned out his words. There was a blinding flash of light.   
Allura turned toward the source of the horrible crash and saw that one of the tallest trees  
near the opening of the forest, nearly seventy feet high, had been hit by lightning. It was  
swaying--it was going to fall! And it was headed straight for them!   
Allura felt a hard shove as Keith pushed her out of the tree's path. She hit the  
ground hard on her right arm, then felt the ground shake and her ears crackle with a  
tremendous smash that seemed to vibrate the entire planet.  
In the horrible hush that followed, Allura continued to lay upon the damp grass,  
hardly breathing, afraid to move. Suddenly, she felt something hit her hand. The limb  
flexed in alarm, and Allura tensed. More stings landed, on her forehead, on her arms and  
legs. She looked up, and realized that it had begun to rain, hard.   
"Allura?"  
"Keith!" She turned her head to see him lying beside her, gazing at her in concern.   
Behind him, the fallen tree lay, barely two feet away.  
"Are you all right?" Keith asked.  
"I think so," she replied. "What about you?"  
"I'm fine," he replied absently, already pushing himself to his feet. When he was  
standing, he offered his hand to help her up.  
When she was on her feet, Keith continued to hold her hand, for which Allura was  
grateful; although her panic had ebbed, she couldn't seem to stop trembling. The rain was  
coming faster now; Allura winced from the force of the huge, sharp drops. She looked at  
Keith and saw him hurriedly scanning their surroundings. Suddenly he pointed.  
"There! We can wait out the storm."  
Allura followed his gesture and a saw a large cave. In the back of her mind, she  
realized that it must have been left over from the days when the Arusian people lived in  
caves to escape King Zarkon. She had a brief flashback of heat, screams, and death in  
harmony, and closed her eyes briefly against the horrible memories.  
"Come on," Keith urged, tugging at her hand.   
  
The cave was chilly. Allura could not help a shiver as she gazed into its cold  
darkness. She wiped the raindrops off her forehead. They were both drenched.  
"Are you warm enough, Princess?"  
"I'm fine," she assured him. Keith did not need to know how much her right elbow  
hurt; it would only worry him.  
As if he heard her thoughts, Keith looked at her critically for a few moments, then  
looked back at the meadow. Lightning flashed, and there was another clap of thunder.   
The rain was was pouring down in sheets, like folds of gray silk.  
Allura sat on the floor of the cave. "How long do you think it'll last?"  
"Probably not very long. Fierce storms like this tend to spend themselves quickly."  
"I hope so. If Nanny discovers that I'm gone, she'll have a fit. She'd never let me  
leave the Castle again."  
Keith gave a rueful smile. "You're lucky to have people around who care about  
you, Princess."  
Noticing the wistful tone in his words, Allura looked up at him curiously. She knew  
Keith had been orphaned at the age of ten, and, having no siblings, he had spent most of  
his life alone. Having always had her father, Koran, and Nanny around made Allura  
sometimes take her family for granted. Gazing at Keith's grim profile as he stared at the  
rainstorm made her realize just how lucky she was.  
Keith looked away from the storm. "Are you hurt?" he asked.  
Allura couldn't bring herself to lie to him. "I landed pretty hard on my right arm," she  
admitted, "but don't worry, I think I'll live."  
He gave a faint smile. "I'm sure you will, but just in case, I'm going back to the black  
lion to get a med kit."  
"Keith," Allura protested. "That's not necessary. It's just a bruise. Besides, you  
can't go out into that storm--you're soaked already." When he looked away in impatience,  
she added lightly, "You'll get sick and Lance will have to lead the team. Are you willing to  
take such a risk?" She smiled at her joke.  
Keith looked back at her with his usual crooked smile. "I'll chance it," he said wryly.  
"Keith," she said again, looking at him seriously. "Please. The storm will be over  
any minute, then we can go back. I don't like the idea of you going out there alone."  
Keith was still staring outside. "While I'm there, I can try to send a message, in case  
we're late." It was as if he hadn't heard her.  
"Keith!" Allura was exasperated. "Don't be so stubborn!"   
Surprised by her outraged tone, Keith finally turned. For a moment, Allura thought  
he might be angry, but then she saw that he was trying to hold off a smile.   
"And just what is so funny?" she demanded haughtily.  
Keith's face became a mask again. "Nothing, Princess," he replied politely. "Were  
you going to say something?"  
Caught off guard, Allura had forgotten what she had been about to say. She  
thought for a moment. "Oh, yes. Please, don't go back out into that storm. I'm perfectly  
fine, and when it's over, I give you my word that I will not walk back to the blue lion on my  
hands." Her eyes implored him to heed her words.  
Keith smiled. "All right, Your Majesty, you've convinced me."  
  
Fifteen minutes later, the storm showed no sign of letting up. Keith's expression  
had become tense, but he continued to sit, still and patient, as if he had all the time in the  
world.  
Allura shifted her position, wincing as the cold stone of the wall dug into her spine.   
She fought another shiver; she knew very well that Keith was monitoring her closely, and at  
her first sign of discomfort, nothing would stop him from going to the black lion for the med  
kit. Allura wrenched her body still to repress another shiver. Keith never seemed to notice  
the elements; she was just as determined to ignore the cold air of the cave and her soaked  
clothes.  
Suddenly she sneezed. Self-consciously, she glanced at Keith, and caught him  
looking at her. Allura shifted again, trying to look comfortable. But this time, she was  
unable to keep from shivering.  
Now Keith looked her in the eye. "You can give up the act, Princess."  
"I don't know what you're talking about," she hedged. "I'm just fine."  
Keith moved his gaze away for a moment, as if he was hesitating, then he slowly got  
up and moved to her side of the cave, sitting next to her. "Lean against me," he said. "We  
can keep each other warm."  
For the briefest of seconds, Allura was nervous. Then she moved closer, leaning  
against him, and felt Keith put his arm around her shoulders. The first few moments were  
awkward, but soon Allura felt Keith relax, and allowed herself to do the same. She shivered  
again, uncontrollably, and felt him draw her closer. As her head rested on his shoulder,  
Allura tried not to think about how close he was, how she could feel the rise and fall of his  
chest as he breathed, how safe she felt in his arms. She turned her mind to the Castle. "I  
hope we make it back in time."  
"We will," he answered confidently. "I took the precaution of telling Lance where  
we'd be, just in case. At least they'll know you're not far."  
"Somehow," she said, "I don't think that will make much of a difference."  
  
The alarm clock gave an unholy screech right next to Lance's ear. He started, then  
reached out with one hand to turn it off. For a moment, he lay back onto his pillow,  
wistfully, then regretfully pushed back the covers and launched himself out of bed. "Why  
does lion practice have to be so damn early?" he mumbled to himself, rubbing his eyes. He  
reached for his jeans and turtleneck, put them on, and reached for his leather jacket.   
Lance left his room just as Hunk and Pidge were emerging from theirs. "Morning," a  
bright-eyed Pidge chirped.  
"It's not morning," Lance argued. "It's still the middle of the night."  
"How can Keith expect us to get up so early every morning?" Hunk complained.   
"I'm so tired I can hardly walk."  
"Well you wouldn't be if you didn't go to bed so late," Pidge replied matter-of-factly.  
"There's more to life than going to bed early," Hunk countered.  
"Not here there isn't," Lance added. "Come on; he's probably waiting for us."  
When they reached the rec room, they were startled to find it empty. "Whoah!"   
exclaimed Pidge. "Did we beat Keith out of bed?"  
"This has got to be a dream," Hunk said, "I think I'll go back to sleep." Pidge  
grabbed his arm, shaking a disciplinary finger.  
Lance suddenly remembered what Keith had told him the previous night. , Lance thought. I don't like this, but I'd better not say  
anything. "Hey, everybody has an off day. He'll be here any minute."  
"I guess the Princess is having an off day, too," Pidge observed, "because she's  
not here either. What a coincidence, huh?" The fourteen-year-old boy raised his  
eyebrows suggestively.   
Lance fought the urge to chuckle. He himself had given Keith the same look the  
night before, and received a reproachful earful in return. 'Say what you will about me,"  
Keith had told him sternly, 'but mention one word that compromises the Princess's honor  
and I'll knock you from here to next week.' Though Keith had been smiling, albeit  
somewhat ferally, Lance knew he meant what he said, and had hastily dropped the subject.   
But still, it wouldn't do to have rumors get started...  
"Knock it off, Pidge," Lance admonished, beating down a smile. "You know Keith is  
too honest to pull a stunt like that."  
The boy sighed in disapointment. "You're probably right."  
They all sat down to wait. Fifteen minutes later, Pidge got up. "That's it; I'm  
worried. Something must have happened."  
"Sit down, Pidge," Lance ordered. "I'm sure they'll be back soon. Nanny and Koran  
will be getting up shortly, and there's no use upsetting them."  
"But Lance," Hunk argued, sounding concerned, "what if something did happen to  
them? Maybe Prince Lotor captured the Princess, and then when Keith tried to rescue her,  
maybe they got him, too."  
"Nonsense. Lotor and his father were destroyed when we sent Haggar's storm back  
to them. Remember how Koran said it changed the rotation of the planet? The sun side of  
Planet Doom gets up to seven hundred degrees; there's no way they could have survived."  
Hunk shrugged. "Okay, so maybe it wasn't Lotor or Zarkon. But we all know it's not  
like Keith to be late for anything. I say something happened."  
"I know they're okay," Lance insisted. "Keep your voice down; someone will hear  
you."  
Just then, the door slid open, and the team looked hopefully toward it. But it wasn't  
Keith or the Princess, it was Koran.  
"What are you all doing here?" the chief diplomat inquired in surprise. "Shouldn't  
you be at practice?"  
"We can't practice without our captain," Hunk replied.  
"Or the Princess," Pidge added.  
"They're not here?" Koran said, alarmed. "Where are they?"  
Nanny appeared a moment later. "What's going on? Why aren't you practicing?   
And where's Princess Allura?"  
"Maybe she's still in bed," Pidge suggested hopefully.  
"She wouldn't miss her precious lion practice," Nanny replied firmly. "Where is  
she?"  
Hunk turned to Lance. "Well, Lance, you're second-in-command. What do you  
think?"  
Lance looked uncomfortable. He'd promised not to breathe a word unless it was  
absolutely necessary. Looking at Nanny and Koran's worried faces, Lance guessed that it  
was absolutely necessary. "There's nothing to worry about," he sighed  
finally, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I know where they are."  
"Where?" everyone exclaimed.  
"They're at the target field."  
"What are they doing there?" Koran demanded.  
"Keith's giving the Princess some extra target practice." Out of the corner of his  
eye, Lance saw Pidge nudge Hunk with a grin.  
"When did they say they'd be back?" Nanny asked.  
Lance stared at his feet. "Six."  
"Six!" Nanny cried. "It's nearly half past! Where are they?"  
"I'm sure they're fine," replied Lance. "Keith wouldn't let anything happen to the  
Princess. Maybe one of the lions broke down, and they're trying to fix it."  
"Did anyone else know about these plans?" Koran gave the Voltron Force a grim  
stare.  
Hunk and Pidge shook their heads.  
"How long have they been gone?" Koran demanded of Lance.  
Lance replied honestly. "I don't know."  
"You don't know!" Nanny was very upset. "They could have been gone for hours,  
and we'd never have known! She could have been kidnapped, or hurt--"  
"I'm sure everything's fine, Nanny," Koran consoled the agitated nurse, fixing Lance  
with a stern look. "Why were you the only one who knew?"  
Lance shrugged. "Keith said he wanted someone to know, as a safety precaution--  
" he stopped himself, but it was too late.  
Nanny gave a cry of fear and fell against Koran. "Oh, my poor girl! What could  
have happened to her?"  
"I'm disappointed in you, Lance," Koran told him. "You should have told us."  
"But Keith swore me to secrecy!" Lance protested, then suddenly realized it was  
the wrong thing to say. "I mean--"  
Koran face turned red. "Oh, he did, did he!"  
"Oh, Koran!" Nanny sobbed.  
"It's all right," he comforted her, his scowl losing some of its intensity. "I should  
have known something like this might happen."  
"What?" asked Hunk.  
"Never mind," Koran brushed him off. To Nanny, he said, "I'm sure they'll return  
soon, Nanny."  
"But what if something's happened?" Nanny sniffled.  
"Lance was right about one thing," Koran said grimly. "Keith would never let  
anything happen to the Princess. But right now, all we can do is wait."  
  
Allura did not realize she'd fallen asleep until she woke up. She became conscious  
of someone gently nudging her.   
"Allura?" she heard Keith say softly.  
She blinked a few times. They were still in the cave, and it was still cold--though  
she felt warm in Keith's arms. Suddenly she realized what was missing.  
The storm was over. The meadow sparkled at them; leftover raindrops glistened on  
the trees, and the grass lay flat and stunned after the unexpected onslaught. Allura  
marveled at its tranquil beauty for a moment before turning back to Keith.  
"It's over," she said, stating the obvious.  
"And not a moment too soon," Keith responded. His voice sounded odd, a little  
gruff. Allura abruptly recovered her senses and pulled away from him--then was amazed at  
how cold she felt without his body next to hers. "What time is it?" she asked.  
The look on his face told her that it was not good news. "Six-thirty."  
"Oh no!" Allura cried, pushing herself to her feet. "We've got to go, now!"  
"What about your arm?" Keith inquired stubbornly.  
"Forget my arm," she answered. "I can fly just fine, and don't argue with me."  
Keith sighed. "I wouldn't dream of it, Princess. Let's go."  
They sprinted across the damp meadow to the lions. "They'll still run, won't they?"   
Allura worried.  
"Of course," Keith assured her. "They've taken much worse than a little downpour."  
They scrambled into their lions and inserted their keys. A moment later, they  
launched into the sky simultaneously, heading for the Castle. The fog had cleared, and  
Allura could now easily see her home. Then she thought of the inhabitants of that Castle,  
and of what must be waiting for her there. Nanny and Koran were certainly awake by now,  
and Allura could almost hear their angry accusations. "I don't think I've ever dreaded going  
home so much," she admitted to Keith.  
"Relax, Princess," he replied. "We've got a good reason for being late."   
"That's not what I'm concerned about," Allura said.  
They reached the Castle quickly. Keith and Allura stored their lions in their  
respective hiding places and rode the underground shuttles back to the Castle. Allura felt  
her heart sink when her elevator door slid open and she saw Koran, Nanny, and the rest of  
the Voltron Force standing there, waiting. Keith emerged at the same time; he and Allura  
exchanged a quick glance.  
"Oh, Your Majesty!" Nanny exclaimed, rushing forward. "I thought something had  
happened!"  
Allura returned the hug. "I'm all right, Nanny."  
"I'm awfully sorry, sir," Keith apologized, clearing his throat slightly. "I meant to get  
her back before six, but we got caught in a bad storm."  
Koran's stony expression did not waver. "You could have flown through it."  
"I didn't want to risk it, Koran. I thought it would be better if we just waited it out. But  
I didn't think it would last as long as it did."  
"You've flown those robot lions through much worse than a simple thunderstorm,"  
Koran replied coldly. "You knew that we would be worried if we awoke and found both of  
you gone."  
"I didn't want to worry you. I just thought--"  
"On the contrary, Keith," Koran interrupted, "it doesn't sound like you thought at all.   
I would not have expected this kind of irresponsible behavior from you, of all people."  
Keith looked stunned.  
"It's not his fault," Allura insisted. "I asked for extra practice."  
"Then you should have refused," Koran replied, his eyes never leaving Keith. "I  
must say this shows very poor judgement, Keith."  
"It was my idea," Allura protested, trying to catch Keith's eye. "It's me you should be  
angry with, not Keith."  
"I am angry with both of you," Koran answered frostily. "What you did was not only  
irresponsible, it was dangerous. You could have been injured, or even captured, and we  
would have no way of knowing what happened."  
"Koran, if she'd been hurt I'd have moved heaven and earth--" Keith began.  
Koran raised an imperious hand. "Enough. Lion practice is suspended for the day.   
Keith, I would like you to see you in the control room as soon as you've gotten cleaned up.   
Is that understood?"  
Keith paled. Then he sighed. "Yes, Koran."  
Nanny had apparently recovered her wits. "And as for you," she said to the  
Princess, "we are going to have a chat, young lady." She dragged Allura toward the door  
by her injured arm. Knowing it would only make things worse, Allura bit back the stab of  
pain she felt in her right elbow. She looked back at Keith once before Nanny hauled her  
out of the room.  
Without a word, Koran turned on his heel and headed for the control room. Keith  
and his teammates continued to stand in the same places, dumbfounded by what had just  
happened.  
Lance spoke first. "I'm really sorry, Keith. I told them."  
"That was exactly what you should have done, Lance," Keith replied firmly.  
"Koran's just worried about the Princess," Hunk offered. "I don't think he's really  
that mad at you."  
"He has every right to be."  
"But Princess Allura said it was her idea," Hunk responded, putting a friendly arm  
around Keith's shoulders. "And believe me, man, I know how convincing she can be, with  
those big blue eyes of hers--"  
Keith shot Hunk a gaze so fierce that the words died on his lips. Hunk dropped his  
arm immediately.  
Keith said, "Koran was right; it was very poor judgement." Without another word,  
he exited the room.  
"Boy oh boy, is Keith in trouble," Pidge said in awe. "He's the last person I'd have  
figured to get into a mess like this."   
Lance had watched Keith leave with a feeling of forboding. "I think there's a lot more  
going on here than what happened this morning."  
"What?" Hunk asked.  
Lance gave him a scornful look. "Think about it, Hunk. Keith and the Princess  
snuck out in the middle of the night without telling anyone. Do I need to spell it out for  
you?"  
"Oh...yeah. But Keith would never--"  
"I know he wouldn't," Lance interjected. "But it may be hard to convince Koran that.   
He's practically a father to the Princess."  
"I see what you mean," Hunk answered. "This is definitely not good."  
"Do you think he'll ground Keith?" Pidge asked, wide-eyed.  
"Of course not; Koran knows we need him. But I'd say Keith's definitely in for an  
earful."  
Pidge thought a moment. "I sure wouldn't want to be Keith right now."  
  
When Keith had changed into a fresh uniform, he went obediently to the control  
room, feeling as if he were going to his own execution. "You wanted to see me, Koran?"  
Koran turned away from the main keyboard and gazed sternly at him. "I am not  
going to beat around the bush, Keith. This nonsense with Princess Allura has gone on long  
enough."  
"Koran--" One look from the first minister silenced Keith.  
"You are aware, commander, that more than six months have gone by since Galaxy  
Garrison sent orders recalling you to base."   
Keith recoiled slightly, then nodded. "Yes, sir."  
Koran continued. "Because I believed you were still needed here, I disobeyed those  
orders. I have not regretted my actions--so far. You must understand that Allura is a royal  
princess, heir to the throne of Planet Arus. She has a responsibility to her planet and her  
people."  
"I want the best for Princess Allura," Koran continued, when Keith made no reply,  
"and I am sure that you do, as well. But she cannot remain on the Voltron Force  
indefinitely; she must marry and form an alliance with another world. You're an intelligent  
man, Keith, so you must understand what I am trying to say."  
Keith's jaw tightened. "I understand, Koran."  
"Then you must end this--infatuation--immediately. Ever since the death of King  
Alfor, his daughter has been like my own. I care for her very deeply, and I do not want to  
see her get hurt. What happened this morning has made me very apprehensive. As  
Princess Allura's guardian, it is my duty to ensure that this affair ends now, before Her  
Majesty gets hurt."  
It was a veiled insult, but an insult nonetheless. Keith's jaw tightened perceptibly.  
Koran was not finished yet. "I am placing this on your shoulders, Keith, because  
Princess Allura is still very young and has led a sheltered life. Things between you and the  
Princess must remain professional. Otherwise, I shall be obliged to take action. Do we  
understand each other?"  
Keith's expression was cold. "I understand, Koran."  
"Good. You are dismissed, commander."  
Keith gave a chilly, respectful bow, turned on his heel, and walked through the  
door. Once he was in the corridor, he quickened his pace, clenching his jaw muscles, and  
headed for his room. Inside, he slammed the door behind him in an uncharacteristic  
display of temper. "I understand you perfectly, Koran!"   
A minute later he removed a sheet of paper and a pen from a drawer. He scribbled  
a quick note, folded the letter and sealed it, then scrawled the name "Sven Jacobsen" on  
the front. He rose resolutely and strode quickly to the mail room. He handed the attendant  
the letter. "To Planet Pollux, please."  
  
As Allura had expected, Nanny plunged in the moment the door to the Princess's  
chamber shut behind them. "Just what do you think you were doing, missy?" the nurse  
demanded.  
"Improving my aim," Allura answered hotly.   
"You know very well that is not what I meant."  
Allura looked away. Nanny, determined to be heard, moved back into the  
Princess's line of vision. "I meant, what was going through your head when you decided to  
sneak out in the middle of the night with that boy!"  
"Nanny!" Allura was indignant. "You make it sound so suspicious. I assure you, all  
we were doing was shooting at a target, and we really did get caught in a thunderstorm. It  
was a really bad one, too," she elaborated. "Keith thought it would be better if we just  
waited it out."  
"I'm sure he did."  
Nanny's tone made Allura flush. "Stop it, Nanny! Nothing happened, nothing at all!   
You're getting upset over nothing!"  
"Nothing?" Nanny exclaimed in disbelief. "Nothing? I wake up in the morning to  
find that the girl who is like a daughter to me is missing, and no one knows where she is.   
How can you call that getting upset over nothing? I've never been so frightened in my life!   
We had no way of knowing where you were, if you'd been hurt--"  
"Keith would never hurt me!"  
"Maybe he would not have, but there is a great deal out there who would. Suppose  
that awful Prince Lotor had showed up, and captured you?"  
"Keith would never let that happen!"  
"He did, barely a year ago!" Nanny's voice wavered with indignant emotion. "Or  
have you forgotten how, not so long ago, Keith allowed you to be pulled into Lotor's tractor  
beam and imprisoned on Planet Doom?"  
"He had no choice!" Allura retorted. "Keith did what he had to do!"  
"I don't believe this!" Nanny stormed. "He's put your life in danger countless times,  
and yet you defend him!"  
"Yes, I do!" Allura exclaimed with fervor, "because we can never repay Keith for  
what he has done for Planet Arus. Without him to lead the Voltron Force, Arus might have  
been completely destroyed by King Zarkon!" Her voice wavered with emotion. "Everything  
he does is for the good of our planet! How can you berate him so?" Allura's brow  
furrowed. "You're forgetting that each time my life was in danger, Keith risked his to save  
me. How can you even think that he would--" she could not finish the sentence.  
The anger melted from Nanny's eyes. "You are right, Your Majesty. Keith has  
done all he could for you and your planet. I know he would never harm you in any way.   
But dearest, try to see it from my eyes. You are all that I have, Your Majesty, and I worry  
about you every second of every day. I can't help it. Why couldn't you have told me your  
plans?"  
"Because you would not have approved," Allura admitted.  
"Exactly, and with good reason. It was very dangerous, what you two did this  
morning. Suppose we had been attacked. With you and the Voltron commander missing,  
we would not have been able to defend ourselves. Moreover," Nanny continued, raising a  
hand to silence Allura's protests, "it would have been much safer for you two to practice in  
broad daylight. You can never tell who might be hiding in the shadows."  
"But then we might not have had time," Allura explained. "You and Koran keep me  
so busy with diplomatic affairs that I barely have time to fly and keep up my Academy  
studies."  
"You are a princess before you are a pilot."  
"I know that, Nanny, but I love flying the blue lion. I care very much for Arus, and I'll  
gladly give my life for my people. But until I improve my fighting skills, I'm a hindrance to  
the Voltron Force, and that's the last thing I want to be. Can you understand, Nanny?"  
Nanny sighed. "I just worry," she repeated.  
Allura took her hand. "I didn't mean to upset you, Nanny. I'm so sorry."  
Nanny clasped her in a fierce hug. "I know, dearest."  
  
(One day later)  
  
"Sven Jacobsen?"  
Sven looked up from the book he was reading. "Yes?"  
The attendant held out a folded piece of paper bearing the royal seal of Planet  
Arus. Sven thanked the servant and took the letter apprehensively. He hoped that nothing  
was wrong on Planet Arus. He opened the letter:  
Sven,  
Please come to Planet Arus as soon as you can. Don't worry, nothing is  
wrong, but what I have to discuss is very important and best done in person.  
Your friend, Keith  
The letter was very typical of Keith, Sven thought. No greetings or small talk; just  
the facts. But despite Keith's words urging him not to worry, Sven knew that Keith would not  
contact him unless something was very wrong.   
  
Sven arrived on Arus the following morning. Keith met him at the landing platform.  
"Sven! Good to see you, buddy!" Keith's joviality seemed forced, but Sven  
responded in kind, conscious of the eyes of the platform guards.  
"Likewise. How's flying?"  
"So you miss it that much, do you?" Keith remarked with amusement.  
Sven smiled sheepishly, and they strolled away from the platform--and the guards.  
Once they were alone, Sven sent Keith a shrewd look and stopped walking.  
"So what is this really about, Keith?"  
The other man hesitated a moment, then said, "Sven, if I could no longer lead the  
Voltron Force, would you take my place?"  
This was the last thing Sven had expected to hear. "Is there something you're not  
telling me?"  
"Let's call it hypothetical for now," Keith replied hastily. "Would you?"  
Sven cocked his head. "What's going on, Keith? Why wouldn't you be able to lead  
the Voltron Force?"  
"Well, say I got killed, or . . . "  
"Or what? You've taken spills that would have finished me ten times over. You've  
got nine lives when you fly, Keith. So tell me the real reason."  
Keith hesitated again, and he avoided the older man's gaze. "Or if I was asked to  
leave," he finished reluctantly.  
"Why would you be asked to leave?"  
Keith looked even more uncomfortable. "Just answer the question."  
Sven could tell that something really was wrong. "Keith, why are you asking me  
something crazy like this? Why in the world would Koran or the Princess ask you to leave  
Arus?"  
"Well . . . suppose I could no longer do my job...as effectively."  
"Why wouldn't you be able to do your job?" Suddenly Sven got it. "This is about the  
Princess, isn't it?"  
For the first time, Sven saw Keith blush. He nodded. "Oh . . . I see." Pause. "Has  
anything . . .?"  
"No," Keith assured him quickly, "but I got one hell of a lecture from Koran  
yesterday morning."   
"What happened?"  
Keith looked at the ground. "Allura asked for some extra target practice before  
regular lion practice. We got caught in a storm and arrived back late. Now both Koran and  
Nanny suspect me of abducting her for--God knows what reason."  
The corners of Sven's mouth curled in the tiniest of smiles. "I hate to say it, Keith,  
but you can't really blame them."  
"I know," Keith answered glumly. "But Koran wouldn't even listen to my side. He's  
already tried and condemned me. In fact, he threatened to send me back to Galaxy  
Garrison." Keith did not mention the six-month old orders.  
"Really? That serious, eh?" Sven frowned. "What are you going to do?"  
"I'm not sure yet, but I can't stay here any longer, Sven. Things are  
getting...difficult."  
"Are things 'difficult' for the Princess as well?"  
"I--can't answer that," Keith replied, still avoiding Sven's gaze. "But it doesn't matter  
anyway. She's a princess and I'm...not worthy of her."  
"You should know that excuse won't work on me, Keith. I know this territory."  
"But this is different," Keith insisted again. "Romelle doesn't have an overprotective  
diplomat and a nuclear nurse guarding her. I'm worried about Allura, Sven. If things  
continue as they have been, she's going to either run away forever, or be smothered to  
death. They've got to learn to let her make her own decisions. Allura loves her planet, but  
she's got to choose her own way to serve it. Koran and Nanny seem to think that she's  
simply a puppet to be led on strings."  
"You care very deeply for the Princess," Sven observed wisely.  
"Would you take my place, Sven, if I asked you to?"  
Sven was silent for a long moment. "Yes," he finally said, "if you asked me to. But,"  
he added, when he saw Keith breath a sigh of relief, "nothing has happened yet, there's no  
reason--"  
"Better safe than sorry," Keith pronounced somewhat grimly.  
They had entered the Castle by this time, and continued slowly down the corridor in  
silence, each man lost in his own thoughts. Suddenly they heard a voice behind them.  
"Sven?"  
Keith and Sven turned to see Princess Allura standing there. Sven shot a quick  
glance at Keith, but, as he had expected, Keith's face had become a mask.  
"Sven!" Allura repeated. "What are you doing here?"  
"Just in the neighborhood," Sven replied with a grin. "I thought I'd drop by."  
Allura smiled. "It's wonderful to see you. How is my cousin?"  
Sven blushed. "She's fine."  
Allura's smile widened. "I don't have to ask if things are okay between you two; I  
can tell by your blush." When Sven flushed even redder, she laughed.  
There was a brief silence. Then Sven, his color back to normal, spoke up. "Well,  
as long as I'm here, I think I'll go say hello to the rest of the guys. See you both later."  
"Goodbye, Sven," Allura said.  
"Bye, Sven," Keith echoed. When Sven had disappeared down the hall, Keith and  
Allura stood there awkwardly for several moments.   
Allura found her voice. "Can I talk to you?"  
"Sure." Keith crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What about?""  
"About--the other day . . . I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I didn't mean to get you  
into so much trouble. I feel terrible."  
"Don't worry about it. I should have had better judgement." He was looking away  
from her again.  
"But it was my idea."  
"And I agreed to it."  
"But still--" Allura began, looking miserable.  
"Don't worry about it," Keith repeated. "Everything's okay."  
Allura was silent a moment. "What awful things did Koran say to you?"  
Keith didn't answer for several seconds. "It doesn't matter," he replied indifferently.  
"It matters to me," Allura replied. "I can understand them wanting to look after me,  
but blaming you for what was my own stupid idea--"  
"It wasn't a stupid idea, Princess," Keith said sharply. "You're doing what you can to  
become a good ruler for this planet. If Koran and Nanny don't like the way you do it, then  
it's their own fault for not believing in you enough."  
Allura looked shocked for a moment. "You're right," she said in amazement. "You're  
right, Keith! Sometimes I feel like they don't trust me at all. They behave as though I'll run  
wild if they let me out of their sight."  
"They trust you, Princess. They've known you all your life. It's me--and the rest of  
the Force--that they don't trust."  
"But why?" Allura asked. "You guys have done so much for Planet Arus, I should  
think they'd trust you completely."  
"Apparently it doesn't work that way," Keith said ruefully. "When you care about  
someone, logic goes out the window." I should know he added privately.  
"That certainly would explain a lot," Allura admitted. "Still, I think they both treated  
you unfairly, especially Koran."  
"For the third and final time, Princess, don't worry about it." Keith sounded more  
amused than exasperated. "I've survived much worse than a lecture."  
Allura was quiet a moment, wondering exactly what Koran had said to Keith, and  
why Keith wouldn't talk about it. It couldn't have been good, whatever it was, or Keith  
wouldn't be so tight-lipped about it. Then again, she amended with an internal sigh, Keith's  
mastery over his emotions was well-known. She was just about to press him further, when  
she heard her name being called.  
"Princess! Princess Allura!"  
She turned to see Koran striding down the hall, his expression stern. "Koran, what  
is it?"  
"There is something I must discuss with you, now."  
"What is it? Is something wrong?"  
Koran shook his head. "I must speak to you alone, Princess. Excuse us, Keith."   
He shot a murderous look at the Voltron commander and seized Allura's arm, dragging her  
away before she or Keith could say a word.  
  
"Koran!" Allura demanded in alarm. "Whatever is the matter?"  
Koran pulled her into the control room and keyed the door shut behind them. Then  
he faced her, and she saw that his face was flushed angrily. "What were you and  
Commander Keith talking about?"  
Allura blinked in surprise, then folded her arms. "If you must know, I was asking him  
about the awful things you said to him two days ago. How could you, Koran? Keith did  
nothing wrong!"  
"I don't like his influence on you, Princess," Koran said firmly. "He is a captain, you  
are a princess. There is no reason for you two to be conversing outside of lion practice or  
combat itself, and soon you will not even have that in common."  
"Don't tell me that you've got another silly prince lined up for me to inspect!" Allura  
cried. "You know how I feel about that, Koran--I refuse to marry against my will, no matter  
how much it suits your diplomatic policies!"  
"Your Majesty, you are twenty years old. The time is long past when you must put  
aside your own desires and think of your planet. Planet Doom is no longer a threat to us,  
there is no reason for you to continue flying the Blue Lion!"  
Allura was white with rage. 'No, no reason at all--except that it's the only thing that  
makes me happy! Koran, when I was a child, you always said that you wished me  
happiness when I grew up. Well, I'm grown up, and I've found something to make me happy,  
that also lets me protect my planet! Are you telling me that you'd rather see me unhappily  
married to a man I don't even know, than doing something I love with someone that I--" she  
broke off, realizing what she had been about to say.  
Koran set his teeth. "Princess--"  
"No! No more, Koran! I refuse to listen to you anymore!" Her voice broke on the  
final words, and she turned and fled, pounding the key to open the door, and hurling  
herself out of the control room, blinking away sudden, stinging tears.  
Behind her retreating form, Koran's shoulders sank in misery.  
  
Allura strode defiantly down the corridor, fuming. She reached her room and gave  
the door a satisfying slam on its hinges. Inside, she flounced onto her satin-hung bed to  
think furious thoughts. She tried to see the situation from her diplomat's eyes. She recalled  
Keith's words: "When you care about someone, logic goes out the window." That certainly  
seemed true now.   
Allura rolled over onto her stomach and sighed, her fury ebbing. I don't know what  
Koran thought he was rescuing me from back there, she thought, a trifle bitterly.   
She felt a warm flush blanket her cheeks at the scandalous thought. But in spite of  
herself, Allura felt her thoughts move backward in time, to every special moment she and  
Keith had shared: the brief instant in the dank dungeon in the bowels of Planet Doom when  
he had taken her in his arms. The conversation in the cave on the fourth moon of Planet  
Mada, where they had crash-landed. And, the moment in the cave near the target field,  
where they waited out the fierce storm. Again she relived Keith getting up and sitting next  
to her, gently--almost hesitantly--putting his arm around her shoulders to keep her warm . .  
. Allura smiled. It seemed like Keith was always there to keep her warm. No matter what,  
Keith had always come through for her, whether it was getting into a one-on-one duel with  
Prince Lotor to allow her to escape, or leaping out of his black lion mid-flight, to catch her  
as she fell toward Lake Serenity. Allura felt a sting in her eyes. . The thought of Koran reprimanding Keith, when Keith's only  
motives had been to further her safety, made Allura's blood boil. How dared Koran!  
Suddenly the door to her chamber opened without the sound of a knock. Nanny  
puffed in, her face flushed. She was livid.  
"Tell me I did not actually overhear you smartmouthing Minister Koran, young lady!"   
the nurse demanded, placing her hands on her hips in a gesture that Allura was all too  
familiar with.  
The Princess of Arus girded herself for battle. "He was treating me like a child!"  
"No doubt because you were behaving like one," Nanny countered testily. "Have I  
taught you nothing? You know to respect your elders!"  
"Yes, Nanny, but I find that hard when they won't respect me!" Allura shot back  
huffily.   
"What does that mean?" Nanny folded her arms across her chest and gave Allura  
a steely stare.  
Allura sighed. "Keith and I were talking, and all of a sudden Koran appeared out of  
nowhere and yanked me away, claiming he had something important to discuss--but he  
lied!" Allura raised her voice in frustration. "He just wanted to get me away from Keith!"  
"So we are back to this subject again! Koran was trying to protect you, Princess.   
He does not want to see you get hurt."  
"Keith would never hurt me!"  
Nanny tried another, familiar tactic. "He is not your equal!"  
"He may not be my equal by birth, but in all other ways it is I who fall short!" Allura's  
tone had become passionate.  
"He is only a pilot--"  
"A pilot," Allura interrupted, her face flushed, "who flew half a million light years  
away from his home planet to defend a world that is not his own, to combat an insane  
monster and his diabolical son, and to risk his life for an unimportant little planet in the  
Azure Quadrant! And he made that decision over five thousand light years away, Nanny,  
before he met any of us. How can you say he's just a pilot!"  
Nanny stared at her. "You're losing track of the point, Your Highness. It is true that  
Keith has done more service than we can ever repay him for, but that is not the issue at  
hand. You are a royal princess--"  
"I am so sick of hearing that!" Allura cried. "You and Koran sound like a broken  
record--your excuse for everything is my lineage! What if I tell you that I don't care?"  
Nanny's hands flew to her mouth. "You can't mean that!" she cried. "Those words  
disgrace your honored father, King Alfor!"  
"No, they do not," Allura disagreed, in a quieter tone. "Father always urged me to  
follow my heart. My heart is with the Voltron Force, Nanny."  
"Princess, you don't realize what you are saying--"  
"Yes, I do," the Princess replied firmly. "Don't you want me to be happy, Nanny? I  
won't be happy marrying some prince from another planet, and I won't be happy leaving  
Arus. I want to stay here, and fly the Blue Lion. Why can't you understand that?" She  
took her nurse's hand.  
Nanny looked sad. "You have great heart, Your Majesty. I just hate to see it  
wasted over a silly infatuation--"  
"It's not a silly infatuation!" Allura flared again. "I love him!" The minute the words  
left her mouth she clapped her hand to her lips in consternation.  
Nanny drew her breath in sharply. "You can't mean that."   
Allura thought about it. Her eyes widened with surprise. "Yes, Nanny," she said,  
just as awed as her nurse, "I do."  
Nanny's handkerchief appeared in her hand and she dabbed at her forehead.   
"Then it is already too late," she whispered, more to herself than to Allura.  
"What do you mean, Nanny?"  
The nurse did not reply. She simply turned on her heel. Before she left, Allura  
heard her mutter under her breath, "I must speak to Minister Koran."  
"Nanny!" Allura cried. "Wait, please!" But the older woman was gone. the Princess thought despairingly.   
  
Koran, Keith and Sven were making awkward small talk when Nanny burst into the  
control room. Seeing the nurse's flushed face and anxious expression, Koran immediately  
asked, "What's wrong, Nanny?"  
"I must speak to you, Minister Koran."  
Koran motioned for her to begin.  
Nanny did not budge. "I must speak to you alone," she clarified.  
Koran stared back at Nanny, and his expression molded to match hers. "Sven,  
Keith, leave us, please."  
"Certainly," Sven replied, bowing graciously toward Nanny. She nodded stiffly in  
return. When Sven glanced at Keith, he saw that the commander's brow had furrowed. But  
he did not protest Koran's order and calmly accompanied Sven out of the room.  
  
When the door clamped shut behind them, Sven gave a low whistle. "What was that  
all about?"  
Keith was staring back at the door, as if he could see through to the occupants  
inside. "I don't know, but I've got a bad feeling."  
"What's that?"  
Keith did not reply; he was still staring at the gray metal door. "Sven, you said that  
you'd take my place on the Voltron Force--"  
"If," Sven interrupted, "that became necessary."  
"Yes," Keith dismissed the words absently. "But I can count on your support, right?"  
"Of course," Sven answered guardedly. Now he had a bad feeling of his own.  
Keith finally faced him, with a grim expression on his face. Just then, the door to  
the control room slid open and Nanny emerged, her face pale and her countenance regal.   
She nodded at Sven but didn't even glance at Keith. The young men exchanged a look.   
From inside the control room, Koran's voice boomed. "Keith, come in here!"  
Keith suddenly turned to Sven, his dark eyes urgent. "I need your final answer now,  
Sven. Will you take my place?"  
"Keith, what are you talking about?" Sven exclaimed. "You don't know--"  
"Please, Sven." Keith was deadly serious.  
"But Keith," Sven protested, trying to avoid his friend's unwavering gaze. When  
Keith continued to stare at him imploringly, Sven closed his eyes wearily and said, "All  
right."  
Keith expelled his breath. "I can count on you?"  
"Yes, of course."  
He put his hand on Sven's shoulder. "Thank you." He turned and entered the  
control room. The automatic door swished shut, leaving Sven in a daze.  
  
"Yes, Koran?"  
Koran was facing the opposite direction. "Keith, I told you a two days ago--"  
Keith could not bear to hear the words. "Forgive me, Koran, but I know what you're  
going to say. I have just asked Sven Jacobsen if he would take over as captain, and he  
has agreed."  
Koran whirled, surprised.   
Keith avoided the other man's eyes. "You're right, Koran. It can't go on." He took  
a breath and forced out the painful words. "I resign from the Voltron Force. I'll send word  
to Galaxy Garrison that I'm ready to leave at their disposal."  
Clearly this was the last thing Koran had expected to hear. He continued to stare in  
shock. "Keith, I didn't--" he began.  
"I'd rather it end this way," Keith interjected again, still refusing to meet Koran's  
eyes.  
Koran stared for another few seconds, then sighed. "If that is what you wish."  
When Keith spoke, his tone did not waver at all. "It is, Koran." He raised his eyes  
to fearlessly meet the diplomat's.  
In spite of his anger, Koran's eyes had become sympathetic. "You're sure about  
this?"  
Keith only nodded.  
"Very well. Send Sven in, please."  
Keith bowed somewhat stiffly and exited the room, his head held high.  
  
The Keith who emerged from the control room was a different man than the one  
who had entered only minutes before. His face was pale, his eyes hard, and his expression  
stony.   
"What happened?" Sven demanded.  
"I resigned."  
"You what? But why?"  
"I prefer it this way, Sven," Keith replied firmly.  
Sven stared at him in utter disbelief. He started to reply, but no words would come  
out.  
"Koran wants to speak to you," Keith continued calmly. "And I have letters to send.   
I'll see you later." Before Sven could choke out another word, Keith was halfway down the  
hall.  
  
At Keith's insistence, nothing was said about his decision for the rest of the week;  
Keith wanted to hear from Galaxy Garrison before any kind of announcement was made.   
But even though no one said anything about it, the other members of the Voltron Force  
knew that something was up. Keith became even more pensive than usual; every time  
someone spoke to him, he seemed to have to make an effort to concentrate on what they  
were saying. Then, inevitably, his eyes would resume their faraway appearance.  
There was a general understanding that Princess Allura was on probation. She  
was only allowed to attend practice with the boys, never to socialize. Koran and Nanny  
concocted excuses ranging from the weather to her studies, and kept her as busy as  
possible from morning till night. Allura would normally have angrily protested, but she too  
had noticed Keith's increased moodiness, and it seemed to affect her as well.   
Before the incident of the clandestine target practice, Keith and Allura had been  
close friends. They talked and laughed and confided in each other. Allura learned a lot  
about Keith's life before he had come to Arus, and found to courage to relate to him some  
of her own childhood memories. And since the visit of Prince Aikian, their friendship had  
become even fonder. It wasn't long before the usually no-nonsense Keith was teasing  
Allura as playfully as the rest of the boys. Allura had relished the change. Now that she  
was no longer worried about appearing immature in his eyes, she had found she could  
relax and joke around with him quite easily, something she had never expected to happen  
with the forever-austere commander.   
But now all that had changed. Keith had become as withdrawn from her as he had  
in the beginning, forever hiding behind a wall of seriousness. Now he was truly her captain  
and nothing more, as Koran and Nanny would have preferred from the beginning. Allura felt  
the loss acutely, as if she had lost her oldest friend, and had only herself to blame, no  
matter what Keith said. The infamous target practice had been her idea, after all. Allura  
still tried to start up conversations with Keith, but he only gave her short, clipped answers  
before excusing himself. Many nights that week Allura cried herself to sleep over the loss  
of the friend she had begun to cling to for dear life.  
  
I can't take much more of this, Allura thought as she steered the blue lion into  
formation. The team was returning from an intense flight practice, but instead of feeling  
tired, Allura only felt anxious. I feel as if I'm waiting for a bomb to drop; I don't know  
whether to look forward to or dread the explosion.   
"Hey, Princess," called Lance over the airwaves, "are you up for some judo when  
we get back?"  
"I don't think so, Lance," she replied. "I'm not in the mood."  
"I'll practice with you, Lance," Pidge volunteered.  
"Forget it. It's more fun with the Princess."  
Nanny would have been shocked, but Allura smiled, knowing that Lance was only  
kidding. To a point, anyway.  
"Hey, Keith," Lance continued. "You up for some one-on-one?"  
"Sorry," the commander replied, "I've got work to do."  
"You always have work to do," Hunk complained. "You're no fun anymore."   
Keith did not reply.  
When they entered the Castle after stowing their mechanical lions, they adjourned  
as usual to the rec room, which was usually where Keith gave them his critiques of their  
performance. For the fourth time that week, however, Keith let Hunk, Pidge and Lance  
socialize while he remained silent and withdrawn. Allura sat, slightly away from the boys,  
feeling more alone than ever.  
When the door opened, Allura expected to see Nanny's indignant face, but instead  
it was a castle page, bearing a letter. "For Commander Keith," he said.  
"Thanks," Keith answered politely, accepting the note from the page. The young  
man bowed and exited. Keith opened the letter quickly, scanned its contents, apparently  
reading it several times.   
When he finally looked up, he saw that the rest of the team was looking at him in  
concern. Mail from Galaxy Garrison was rare on Planet Arus, not only because of the  
distance, but of Arus' relative insignificance as far as Earth was concerned.   
Lance's tone was serious as he said quietly, "What's up, cap?"  
Keith folded the note and returned it to its envelope. "Just a note from Jeff," he said  
quickly and calmly, referring to the captain of Voltron of the Near Universe, an old Academy  
buddy of his.  
Allura saw Lance furrow his brow at this. This worried her, because Lance could  
always tell immediately if someone was lying.   
Just then, Nanny arrived, telling them that supper was ready. Allura saw Keith stuff  
the letter into his pocket. she wondered in frustration. As she  
followed the rest of the team to the dining room, she vowed that she would find out what  
was bothering Keith, Nanny or no Nanny.  
  
The meal passed without incident. Keith was silent, but that was hardly something  
new. Lance, Hunk and Pidge joked and teased Nanny about her cooking, to which she  
replied indignantly, but not without some fond amusement.   
As they were about to adjourn for the evening, Allura heard Keith clear his throat.   
"Princess," he asked, "may I make an announcement?"  
"Of course," Allura replied.  
Keith was silent another moment, gathering his thoughts. Then he spoke. "Galaxy  
Garrison has offered me the position of captain of the newly commissioned Space Team of  
Voltron of the Near Universe. I have decided to accept the position."  
No one would have been more surprised if he had calmly announced plans to enlist  
in the army of Planet Doom. They stared in utter disbelief.  
Lance was the first to regain the power of speech. "Have you gone crazy?"  
Keith continued with maddening calm, avoiding everyone's eyes. "I have asked  
Sven if he would take over as captain, and he has accepted. I think you'll all agree that he  
is more than qualified. He'll arrive in a few days."  
"We don't need another captain!" Hunk blustered. "We need you, Keith!"  
"I am sorry to do this to you on such short notice," Keith said, as if he'd memorized  
the speech. "But I'm afraid that this is how it has to be."  
"Why?" Pidge demanded.  
Keith was silent a moment. "I have my reasons."  
"Such as?" Lance sat back in his chair and folded his arms.  
"Personal reasons."  
Allura felt as if she had been punched in the stomach.  
"Personal reasons?" Lance exclaimed. "You're out of your mind, Keith! You can't  
abandon Arus for personal reasons!"  
"What's happened to you?" Hunk said in amazement. "This isn't the Keith I know."  
Keith sat like a statue, staring down at the table with grave resignation. "This is the  
way it has to be," he repeated. "I'm sorry. Excuse me, Princess." He rose abruptly and left  
the table.  
For almost a minute, no one said anything. Lance sat stiffly in his chair, scowling.   
Hunk and Pidge exchanged a worried glance. Allura sat at the head of the table, white-  
faced and trembling. She looked accusingly at Koran. "Did you have anything to do with  
this?"  
Koran looked utterly miserable. "This was Keith's own decision, Princess."  
Allura looked away and asked the same question of Nanny, in the same frozen  
voice.  
"I knew nothing of this," the nurse replied sincerely.  
Allura looked back at Koran with such hurt that it stabbed at the old man's heart.   
Then she rose and strode quickly from the room, her hand over her lips.  
When she was gone, those remaining continued to sit in silence, each lost in their  
own shock. Suddenly Lance banged his fist on the table. "Damn it, he can't do this! I  
won't let him do this!"  
"It was his decision, Lance," Koran said quietly.  
"Then he's out of his mind. You can't let him do this, Koran!"  
"I'm afraid my hands are tied, Lance. If Keith chooses to leave, then I can do  
nothing."  
"But he's abandoning Arus!"  
"He has found a responsible successor. You cannot contest Sven's ability to lead  
the team."  
"I thought he went back to Pollux."  
"To settle his affairs, yes. But I have spoken to him and he has indeed accepted  
the position."  
"You knew about this?" Pidge exclaimed. "Why didn't you say anything?"  
"It was not my place," the diplomat replied firmly. He sighed. "Perhaps this is for  
the best."  
"How can you say that?" Hunk burst out. "He's our captain."  
"Captains are nothing more than high-ranking soldiers. They come and go. Keith  
is making this decision as soldier. You would all do best to support him." Koran got up  
from the table and left.  
"So," Pidge said. "What are we going to do?"  
"I don't know about you two," Lance replied grimly, "but I'm going to have a talk with  
Commander Keith about this leaving business."  
  
When Allura reached her bedroom, she threw herself on the bed and allowed the  
misery to engulf her. Over and over again she heard the horrible words, Keith telling them  
that he was leaving--for personal reasons! What reason would Keith have to leave the  
planet that had become his home, other than to get away from her? Allura wailed inwardly. Allura was sure that her passionate  
declaration was the cause of Keith's sudden decision. Nanny had obviously rushed to  
Koran the minute the fateful words had left Allura's mouth. No doubt Koran had repeated  
them to Keith. Allura was so upset that she didn't even feel embarrassed that her deepest  
secret had reached Keith's ears. Allura buried her head in a pillow, wishing that  
she could sink through the bed and the floor and never come out.  
She heard the door open. "Princess?" It was Nanny.  
Suddenly Allura became a little girl again. She raised her tear-stained face from  
the sodden pillow and cried, "Oh, Nanny!"  
Nanny was at her side in an instant. "Oh, my precious girl, don't cry like that!"  
Allura sniffled against Nanny's shoulder. She tried to speak, but sobs robbed her  
of the words.  
"There, there," Nanny consoled. "It's all right, dearest. It can't be that bad."  
Allura raised her head. "I know what you're going to say," she accused. "That I  
was foolish to hope, and that this is the best thing that could happen. Well it doesn't feel  
like it!"  
Nanny brushed the tears off Allura's pink cheeks, looking into her eyes. "Princess, I  
am going to tell you something very important." The nurse paused, gazing tenderly at her  
charge. "Princess, there are many reasons why I hoped for your marriage. But the most  
important reason of all is your happiness. I want you to marry someone who worships the  
ground you walk upon, someone that will keep you safe all your life, who would love you as  
much as Koran and I do, if not more. I have always believed that such a man would come  
along someday. I thought that man would be a prince, but it appears that I was wrong."  
Allura looked up in surprise.  
"Listen carefully, Princess, for I will only say this once. You think that Keith is going  
away because he does not care for you, is that right?"  
Allura swallowed and nodded.  
Nanny took Allura's hand. "My dear, all you have to do is look at his eyes to see  
that is not true. Keith loves you deeply. He is afraid that he will not be able to love you and  
defend your planet at the same time. He would rather break his own heart than endanger  
you or Planet Arus in any way. That is why he is leaving."  
"How--how do you know this?''  
"I know the kind of man Keith is; I have known others like him." For an instant,  
Nanny looked wistful. "He puts his duty before everything else--even love."  
Allura's chest heaved with unshed tears. "What can I do?"  
"You must let him go," Nanny replied simply. "That is all you can do. Fighting his  
decision will only make things worse for the both of you."  
"I can't imagine being here without Keith." Allura began to cry again.  
Nanny sighed and cradled Allura's head on her shoulder. "It won't be easy,  
dearest, but you must be strong. This is just as hard for him as it is for you."  
Allura was silent a few moments, sniffling. "Why are you telling me this, Nanny?   
You've never liked Keith, or any of the Voltron Force."  
Nanny gave a wry smile. "It is true that I never approved of your affection for Keith.  
I still don't. I looked upon it as a silly schoolgirl fancy that would result in nothing but  
heartbreak for you. And as long as you held onto it, the tighter bound to the Voltron force  
you became, and this frightened me. But, over the years, I cannot deny that I have seen  
Keith grow into the kind of man I always hoped that you would find. Despite all that I have  
said, Keith has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is worthy of a princess's love,  
whether or not he has royal blood."  
Another tear slid down the Princess's flushed cheek. "But if you suddenly think so  
highly of Keith, why do you urge me to accept his decision to leave Arus?"  
Nanny gazed at her solemnly. "Keith has his own life to lead, Princess. If he feels  
that he must leave Arus, then that is how it must be. It is better this way, love, for both of  
you."  
"But I may never see him again!"  
The older woman sighed. "That is not for certain, Your Highness."  
"You mean, someday he might come back?"  
"That is for the future to decide, Princess. In the meantime, remember what I have  
said."  
Allura sniffled again. "Oh, Nanny, this is going to be the hardest thing I've ever  
done."  
"But you can do it, Your Highness. I know you can."  
Allura hugged Nanny tighter. "I love you so much, Nanny!" she cried, fighting  
another bout of tears.  
"I love you, too, Princess," Nanny said fondly. "Now," she continued, stern  
practicality returning to her tone. "Dry your tears and come see Koran with me. He  
believes that you are angry with him, and he is miserable."  
"You're right," Allura said, dabbing at her eyes with the handkerchief Nanny handed  
her. "I'm sorry I've hurt you and Koran so."  
"We've grown used to it," Nanny remarked with wry sarcasm. "Come."  
  
Lance strode quickly down the corridor. As he passed the observation lounge, he  
caught a flash of red. He stopped short and backtracked.   
Keith was standing by the wall-size window, his arms folded. It was obvious that he  
wanted to be alone, and at any other time Lance might have respected his friend's wishes.   
But Lance was angry. He hesitated only a moment before blurting out, "I know the real  
reason you're leaving. It's because of Princess Allura, isn't it?"  
Keith neither moved nor replied.  
"Just tell me the truth," Lance went on stubbornly.  
"Yes," the captain replied quietly. "It's because of Allura."  
Keith's tone was cool and controlled, but there lurked an unmistakable note of  
sadness that suddenly made Lance feel ashamed of his rash behavior. Instinctively, he  
shoved his hands into his pockets and entered the room.   
"I don't get it, Keith," Lance said, the anger gone from his voice. "It's obvious that  
the two of you feel something for each other. What's the problem?"  
"You know very well what the problem is."  
"You mean that jazz about her being a princess, and you being a pilot?" Lance  
sounded disgusted. "So who the hell cares? If she decides--"  
"It's more than that, Lance," Keith interrupted. "She has her people to think about.   
It will do Arus good to unite with another planet, and that can only happen if Allura marries  
a prince."  
Lance snorted. "You sound just like Koran and Nanny. On and on about duty.   
Why don't you cut the crap and tell me the truth?"  
Keith sighed and lowered his gaze, still focused on the Arusian evening. He was  
well familiar with Lance's bullheadedness. "Do you remember how you behaved when  
Cyann Miller was on the Force?"  
Stung, Lance lowered his own gaze.  
"You were so concerned about her safety that you nearly got yourself killed, not to  
mention court-martialled. Do you remember how it felt to watch that dangerous dogfight  
that, for all we know, may have cost Cyann her wings?"  
Lance clenched his teeth at the memory. "It was terrifying," he admitted.  
A moment passed before Keith replied, shifting his gaze away from Lance. "I feel  
that way every time we go into battle. For two years, Lance, I've had to swallow that fear.   
You have no idea how hard it was to do some of the things I did--keep my cool when she  
took risks, stay calm when she was held prisoner, retain my sanity when she was hurt. It's  
taken a toll on me." A deep sigh. "I can't fight it any longer."  
"So don't fight it."  
"Lance, it's not that simple."  
"Yes it is! I know what this is about." Lance's tone had a tightness to it. "This is  
about you, and only you. You live in a world of duty and apathy, and now something's  
come around that you don't know how to handle, so you push it away. You're afraid to love  
her!"  
Lance's challenging words had no effect on Keith. He simply regarded his  
hotheaded friend wearily. "We had this discussion when Prince Aikian was visiting. Do you  
remember what I told you?"  
"That a soldier's duty must come first," Lance remarked, as if swearing an oath, but  
obviously one that he did not believe in. "That he must focus upon his goal of peace and  
not rest until the galaxy is free of tyranny and oppression. And, that if Doom were to ever  
find out about your feelings for the Princess, it would give them a weapon against you."  
"Exactly, Lance, and I still believe that. Now do you see why I have to go?"  
"No, I don't! I know you, Keith. You can handle this; you just don't want to."  
"You're missing the point," Keith snapped. "What's the one thing that Voltron needs  
most? Teamwork. There has to be a balance between the five pilots. If something tips the  
scales, our performance could suffer. What do you do when one part of a machine breaks  
down? You replace the part."   
"Or you fix it," Lance retorted. "And I happen to know you're a damn fine mechanic  
when you want to be, Keith."  
"My first duty is to Voltron, Lance and if I can't pull my weight properly, all of you  
could suffer. I can't let that happen."  
"You think so much of duty, Keith, but now you've completely forgotten it! You're  
letting your own fear get in the way of your duty to defend Planet Arus. That's not the Keith  
I know."  
Keith was silent for several moments. In an empty tone, he finally replied, "Then  
maybe you don't really know me, Lance." He crossed in front of his shocked copilot,  
moving toward the door.  
Lance called after him the words that he felt were his last hope. "I don't think you  
care for Allura at all! If you did, you'd stay here to defend her planet. But instead you're  
abandoning both Allura and Planet Arus, simply because you afraid! You're a coward,  
Keith!"  
Halfway out the door, Keith froze as if turned to stone. Unseen to Lance, he closed  
his eyes in pain for a moment, then continued on his way.  
Lance gazed after him in impotent frustration. "What's happened to you, Keith?"   
he wondered aloud.  
"What's happened to who?" Hunk asked, appearing in the doorway, Pidge in tow.   
"We heard shouting. What's going on in here?"  
Lance ignored the question. "I don't know Keith anymore," he said bitterly.  
"Is he leaving because of the Princess?" Pidge inquired.  
"What other reason could there be?" Lance spat bitterly.  
"I can't believe Keith would just resign," Hunk mused. "It's not like him at all. He  
never gives up."  
"Well, he did this time." His jaw clenched, Lance stalked out of the room.  
  
Sven placed his bag in the cargo hold of his small Polluxian fighter jet.   
"That's all you're bringing?" Princess Romelle asked in surprise. "One bag?"  
Sven smiled. "I don't need as many clothes as you do."  
She smiled back. "Touche." She sighed, gazing at the sky. "I still can't believe  
Keith would leave the Voltron Force. The man has lived and breathed Voltron for two  
years now."  
"It's ironic," Sven agreed sadly. "It's not an easy decision for him; it's more closely  
related to choosing the lesser of two evils."  
"My cousin being one of them."  
"You know I didn't mean it that way." Sven leaned against the metal hull of the ship.   
"It'll be strange to be a Voltron pilot again after all these years."  
"But you look forward to it," Romelle said perceptively.  
"Yes," he admitted, "but I'll miss it here."  
Romelle stepped closer to him. "There will always be a home for you here, and  
--I will always be here." She looked into his eyes.  
Sven took her hand, caressed it gently. "I know. Part of me--no, most of me--  
wishes that I didn't have to go."  
"You'll make a great captain."  
Sven looked embarrassed. "We'll see," he said ruefully. Then his expression  
sobered. "If you ever need me--"  
"Bandor and I can take care of Pollux," Romelle replied firmly.  
"I have no doubt of it," Sven said, the corners of his mouth twitching. "But I don't  
want you to feel as if I'm abandoning Pollux."  
Romelle squeezed his hand. "I know you're not. You're helping a friend in need. I  
think it's very noble of you. But I shall miss you terribly."  
"I'll miss you, too." He stroked her beautiful cheek. "I'll think of you every day."  
"You have more important matters to think about," Romelle admonished, trying to  
keep a straight face and losing. "But I'm flattered." She cupped his face in her hands. "I  
think of you every minute."  
Sven's voice became gruff. "I'll only be twenty light years away."  
"So will I," she whispered, pulling his face down to hers.  
  
At Sven's request, Keith began training him in the black lion the same day that he  
arrived on Planet Arus. Lance was given temporary authority to lead regular lion practice,  
with Princess Allura as second. The first practice without Keith felt very strange. Lance  
ran a functional practice by the seat of his pants, while the black lion dove and swooped in  
a dance of its own.  
Sven was a fast learner; within two days, he was flying the Black Lion as effortlessly  
as if he'd flown the Blue Lion. Lance quipped that it was because Sven's uniform matched  
the color of the lion, thinking himself quite witty until Pidge pointed out that Lance's own  
uniform did not match the fiery hue of his lion: "Sure would explain a lot," the young man  
had said cheekily, delighted at having trapped Lance in his own joke.  
Three days after Sven's arrival, Keith decided that the time had come for Sven to  
take over lion practice. Although he trusted Sven's ability, Keith still insisted upon  
monitoring each practice from the control room. But he never interfered.  
  
"Good job on the last dive," said Sven from the cockpit of the black lion. "Let's try  
another one. Go to attack formation."  
The lions formed a large V, with the black lion at the apex. "At my mark, dive, hold  
for ten, flip, and return to formation."  
The lions performed the trick easily. However, the blue lion faltered a bit in its flip.   
"Princess," Sven monitored, "keep your vector up."  
"Sorry," Allura mumbled, adjusting her controls. She couldn't seem to keep her  
mind on her flying; all she could think about was Keith. Knowing he was watching the  
practice from the Castle somehow made her more nervous than she had felt when he was  
flying with them. As the blue lion obediently returned to formation, Allura's mind wandered  
off again.   
In the week since Keith's startling announcement, the Castle of Lions had the air of  
a funeral. Conversations at meals and after hours were stilted and uncomfortable. No one  
knew what to say to Keith; in a way, it was almost a blessing that he'd been spending all his  
time practicing his own flight maneuvers in one of Arus's one-man fighter ships. They  
hardly saw him. Last night, though, Allura had chanced to meet him in the corridor. Keith  
wore his usual mask of austerity, but when he saw her she could swear that he went a little  
pale.   
"Hi," she'd said awkwardly.  
"Hello," Keith replied expressionlessly.  
"We wondered if you'd dropped off the face of the planet."  
A faint smile. "Not yet."  
Silence. Allura decided to cut to the chase; who knew when she'd get him alone  
again? "Keith, are you okay?"  
He looked up, as if startled. "Why do you ask?"  
"You've been so distant lately. We never see you anymore. It's like--" she paused,  
infuriated that her voice had begun to shake, "like you've already gone."  
Keith gazed at her, his dark eyes sad.   
Allura took a step closer. "I just think, we should treasure these last weeks, you  
know? After you go, there's no telling when--" Her voice was wavering again.  
Keith still did not say anything. He looked as if he were experiencing an internal  
struggle. "Allura," he began, "I--I'm sorry," he finished, lowering his gaze and pushing past  
her. She stared after him tremulously, feeling as if she'd come very close to something  
important.  
The feeling was still with her as she steered the blue lion back toward the Castle of  
Lions at Sven's order. Allura couldn't get the look on Keith's face out of her mind.  
"Princess?"  
Allura jerked out of her reverie. "Yes?" she faltered, recognizing Pidge's voice.  
"Me and Hunk are going down to the lake to swim after practice. Do you want to  
come?"  
"No, thank you, Pidge, but give Hunk good dunking for me."  
"Will do."  
"Hey!" Hunk protested, emerging from his room and hearing Pidge's words.  
"Keith?" Pidge continued. "Do you want to--" he broke off, suddenly remembering  
that Keith was no longer in the black lion. "Sorry, Sven," Pidge finally said sheepishly. "I  
guess I forgot."  
"Don't worry about it, Pidge," Sven said quietly. "It'll be quite a while before any of  
us gets used to his absence."  
Suddenly the enormity of Keith's decision hit Allura. Keith was going to leave. He  
would be _gone_, absent from their lives for--who knew how long? Suddenly Allura wished  
that Sven hadn't picked up the maneuvers of the black lion quite so quickly. Suddenly the remaining time seemed doubly precious  
to her. I can't let him leave, Allura thought despairingly.   
"Princess!"  
Again she jerked herself awake. "What?"  
"Watch your altitude," Lance said with concern. "Are you okay?"  
"Yes, Lance." Allura managed to squelch her melancholy  
thoughts and guided her lion safely back to its hiding place.  
  
"You've chosen a fine replacement," Koran commented to Keith, as they watched  
the lions approach from practice.  
Keith was gazing pensively at the viewscreen, his arms crossed over his chest.   
"Maybe," he said, "but I'd feel a lot better if I could stick around until their first battle."  
"You know that's not possible, Keith," Koran said firmly. "You've kept Galaxy  
Garrison waiting long enough."  
Keith did not reply, but Koran saw that he was clenching a fist.  
"You have faith in Sven's ability, do you not?" he pressed.  
"Of course."  
"Then you must trust him," the minister replied firmly. Then his voice softened. "I  
understand your consternation, Keith. But I think that in this case it is better--"  
"If I leave as soon as possible," Keith finished, a bitter edge to his voice.   
Koran started to say something else, but the elevators to the lions suddenly slid  
open, spilling out Sven, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and the Princess.  
Keith shook off his sullen expression and walked toward Sven. "A fine job, captain."  
"Thank you," Sven replied, shaking Keith's hand.  
Keith faced the rest of the team. "Well done, everyone."  
"Well, when you've got natural talent . . . " Lance began with a cocky grin, obviously  
trying to lighten the grim air. He trailed off when he saw it wasn't working.  
Allura caught Keith's eye on her. In her eyes, she silently thanked him for not  
mentioning her faulty flying. A smile twitched at Keith's mouth for a brief moment, then the  
mask slipped back in place. His voice was cool as he said, "I guess there's no need for me  
to stick around. I'll leave tomorrow."  
"Wait!" the words ripped out of Allura. "You can't go yet! We haven't even had our  
first battle."  
"Yeah," Pidge agreed, "we might need you, Keith."  
"You always say it's good to have a backup," Lance added.  
Keith refused to meet anyone's gaze. "I have faith in all of you."  
"Faith is one thing but support is another," Lance shot back curtly. "Come on,  
Keith. You can't go yet."  
Koran cleared his throat. "You are all forgetting that Keith has a responsibility to  
Galaxy Garrison. If he delays, he may lose his position."  
Allura thought tartly.  
"Koran is right," Keith said quietly. "Sven has proved himself more than able to  
assume command. My duty is to the other Voltron Force now. I must leave as soon as  
possible." He strode quickly from the room.  
The Voltron Force stood numb. Then Allura stepped forward, staring at Koran with  
reproach burning in her clear blue eyes. "You sure are doing a fine job of getting rid of  
him."  
Koran's face fell. "Princess--" he began, but she was already gone.  
  
Keith walked down the hall, feeling like a man possessed. He felt numb, as if this  
was all a dream--a nightmare--that he would soon awake from. he told  
himself, for the billionth time.   
For the trillionth time he wondered what had gone wrong--when and how everything had  
suddenly gone bad. How had the planet that had quickly become a home to him suddenly  
become a minefield--a place where any false move might result in a hideous, fatal  
explosion?   
Keith had reached his room by this time; he shut the door behind him and quickly  
crossed his arms tightly over his chest, beating down the fierce emotions that threatened to  
take over. With a calmness he was far from feeling, Keith lay down on his bed, staring at  
the ceiling and thinking of the past two years. Arus was so  
much like Earth, but better. With a shock he realized that he'd hardly thought of his home  
world in the two years since he and the rest of the men had crash-landed on Planet Arus.   
  
  
Koran finished setting the nighttime perimeter alarm system, then slackened his  
hands with a sigh. He hadn't felt this drained since his days as a soldier in the seldom-  
used Arusian army--well over thirty years ago. The business of Keith's approaching  
departure and Princess Allura's subsequent melancholia had monopolized Koran's  
thoughts. Again and again he saw her, eyes shining with tears, and with a terrible coldness  
in her usually warm voice: "You sure are doing a fine job of getting rid of him." It had  
pierced Koran through the heart. Allura was like a daughter to him, and to see her  
unhappy was more than he could bear. he thought in  
despair. .  
He closed his weary eyes as images came flooding back from earlier that afternoon.   
Keith had asked Koran to patch a channel through to Galaxy Garrison so that he could  
notify them of his imminent arrival. Although Koran had known Keith for two years, the  
young man suddenly looked a stranger--why, Koran wasn't sure. Keith stood up straight  
and tall as usual, his uniform had been spotless, and his tone perfectly respectful as he  
addressed the image of Galaxy Garrison General Aldran projected on the viewscreen. But  
still Koran knew that Keith was not happy; in fact, his eyes held the same expression that  
Koran had glimpsed in those of the Princess.  
Koran shoved the unpleasant thought away. Despite the naggings at his  
conscience, he was confident that he was doing the correct thing. I cannot forget that my  
primary duty is to Arus. King Alfor left Allura in my charge; it is my duty to see that she is  
kept safe all her life, out of this horrible war. Why couldn't Allura understand that he was  
only trying to protect her? He knew she had always been headstrong, but Allura had had  
her twentieth birthday a month ago. Although Koran knew that without the Voltron Force,  
Arus might have been completely destroyed, there were still times when he wished they  
had not come--for they had turned Allura's thoughts away from her duties as a royal  
princess, and focused them upon the sky, and all of the things that she should rightfully  
have never been exposed to: war, greed, and lust.   
From deep within, Koran heard a faint echo of the gone-but-not-forgotten King  
Alfor: "I give you my daughter, trusted advisor Koran, because I know that you will care for  
her and allow her to attain the heights I know she can accomplish. Keep my memory alive  
within her, and I shall always be with you." The ghostly words of the great king and dear  
friend made Koran's throat tighten with emotion. he thought,   
  
I can't believe Keith is leaving tomorrow. Allura sat in front of the mirror in her  
bedroom, her golden hair cascading over her shoulders, a brush grasped lightly in her limp  
wrist. She stared at the pale, hollow-eyed young woman in the glass, her thoughts dull,  
muted and numb. Outside, she could hear the evening birds singing their last songs, could  
hear the servants periodically passing by, could feel the seat beneath her and the weight of  
her hair on her shoulders--it all seemed familiar, but remote, like a half-remembered dream  
that she'd had before and knew well. She knew how the dream would progress, and how it  
would end. She knew that she would finish brushing her hair, get into bed, fall asleep,  
awake the next morning, get dressed, and meet the rest of the team on the landing bay to  
bid Keith goodbye.  
Goodbye. Again she felt a surge of raw disbelief, that this was a bad dream that  
she could awaken from at any moment.   
She felt the brush slip out of her hands and fall to the floor, but she took no note of  
it as she mechanically stood, removed her robe and slipped beneath the covers.   
Surprisingly, she found herself recalling the first time she'd met the Voltron Force, on that  
fateful day, two years ago, when the castle was in ruins and she and Koran were alone.   
She closed her eyes and suddenly she was back in the dark hall, lit only by the single flame  
of Koran's candle. She stood at the top of the stairs, frightened but interested, listening to  
the low rumble of Koran's voice and those of the five young men who'd arrived with the  
name of Voltron on their lips.  
  
  
The morning was unusually cold. The prominent members of the Castle of Lions  
shivered as they stood upon the docking bay, gazing sadly at the small shuttle that would  
take Keith, their commander and their friend, to his new life at Galaxy Garrison.   
Keith emerged quietly from the Castle, carrying his only bag. He looked, as usual,  
calm and determined. There was a brief silence.  
Nanny was the first to step forward. "Thank you, Keith, for all you've done for us."  
A reluctant smile played at Keith's lips as he bowed respectfully at the royal nurse.   
"I'll miss you, Nanny."  
Nanny snorted. "You will not, you wretch." Her gaze was fond as she leaned  
forward to say her last words. "Good luck, and for heaven's sake, get a haircut!"  
There was hearty, if empty, laughter. Keith's half grin became whole. "Goodbye,  
Nanny."  
Koran stepped forward, clearing his throat. He held his hand out to Keith. "I will be  
forever grateful to you for everything you have done. If not for you, Arus would certainly  
have been destroyed."  
"Not with strong leaders like you and the Princess," Keith replied. "It is you who  
keep Arus alive, not a mere defense force. I'll miss this beautiful planet."  
Koran shook Keith's hand a while longer, then reached for Nanny's arm and quietly  
led the old woman into the castle.  
There was an awkward silence. With effort, Keith faced the four men who had  
become his closest friends in the two short years since they had met. "Well, I guess this is  
it."  
Hunk offered one of his mammoth paws. "It's been great working with you, buddy."  
"It's been great working with you, too, Hunk. Keep a lid on the temper, huh?"  
Hunk smiled. "You got it."  
"Raise hell at Galaxy Garrison," Lance quipped, the next to shake Keith's hand.  
Keith grinned. "You'd better behave yourself. I'm not sure Sven's as forgiving as I  
am."  
Lance grinned back. "I'm not making any promises. Don't do anything I wouldn't  
do--or," he added rakishly, "anything I would."  
Pidge held out his small hand, trying to hid his boyish tears. "You've been like a big  
brother to me. I'll miss that."  
Keith reached out to tousle the boy's hair. "So will I." He turned to Sven. "Take  
care of the team for me."  
"Of course," Sven replied. "You take care of yourself."  
"I will." Another awkward silence. "Bye, guys."  
"See ya, Keith," said Hunk. Lance shoved his hands in his pockets and sent Keith a   
smirk. Sven saluted. Pidge waved. Then they all turned and entered the Castle.  
Princess Allura was the only one left. After the bay door clicked shut behind the  
boys, she and Keith gazed at each other even more awkwardly.  
Allura could feel a lump begin to swell in her throat. "I'm sorry, Keith."  
"Don't be, Princess. There was nothing you did."  
"I'll miss you," she said.  
"I'll miss you, too," he replied, gazing at her steadily.  
Allura looked down, feeling self-conscious under the intensity of his gaze. "I can't  
imagine being here without you."  
Keith looked at his own feet. "Do you think I'm abandoning Arus?"  
"No," Allura replied. "I know you're not. Thank you," she continued, "for everything  
you've done, for me and for Arus."  
A half-smile. "Just doing my job, Princess."  
Allura bit back a sob. "Was that all it was?"  
Keith looked up. "No," he answered softly, staring at her with such a tender  
expression that it made the lump in her throat double in size. She heaved a shallow sigh,  
and her body moved of its own accord. She took a step toward him, hesitated, then took   
another step. They were so close that she could hear his own shallow breathing. Allura  
gazed into his dark eyes, hesitated again, then leaned forward, closed her eyes, and gently  
kissed him on the lips.   
The kiss lasted only a moment, yet when she pulled back, Allura saw that Keith's  
eyes were as red as she knew hers must be. He drew a shaking breath, staring at her with  
such an odd expression that she had to ask, "What?"  
Keith did not reply; he simply gazed at her. As if it had a mind of its own, his hand  
lifted to gently touch her face. "You are so beautiful," he murmured, almost to himself.  
Allura felt a tear slip unchecked down her cheek. It splashed Keith's hand, and he  
quickly pulled away. He looked as if he were about to say something.  
"What?" Allura said again.  
"Nothing," he replied softly. "I'd better get going." He started to turn.  
"Keith!" Allura cried suddenly, without knowing why.  
"What?"  
"Nothing," she whispered.  
Keith gave his familiar crooked grin. "Goodbye, Prin---Allura."  
"Goodbye, Keith."  
He took a step back, his eyes never leaving her. With effort, Allura managed a  
small smile. Keith smiled back as he took another step, still not turning. Then, quickly, he  
whirled and boarded the small shuttle that would take him to Earth.  
Allura's hand flew to her mouth to stop the weeping she knew was just seconds  
away. The shuttle fired its engines, and Allura automatically shielded her eyes from the  
bright blue flames emitted from the large rear jets. She felt her mouth form his name again,  
but over the roar of the shuttle, she did not know if she actually spoke aloud.   
The shuttle lifted off easily and soared into the brightening sky. The light hit it,  
giving it a glow that made Allura's lips tremble again. She kept the vessel in sight as long  
as she could, then tore her burning eyes away from the sky.  
Almost immediately, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Princess?" she heard  
Nanny's voice say softly.  
"Oh, Nanny!" Allura cried, whirling around. "I feel like I'm going to die."  
"There, there, now," Nanny comforted, embracing Allura tightly. "I know it hurts,  
dearest, but time will heal the wound."  
"You don't understand," Allura answered, her words muffled by tears. "Things will  
never be the same again."  
"That is true, darling," Nanny said, firmly but emotionally. "But change is a natural  
part of life. In time, you will become used to his absence."  
"No!" Allura cried, louder. "I will never get used to it! Voltron has lost his heart!"   
She pushed the nurse away and ran into the Castle, her strangled sobs echoing off the  
walls of the bay.  
  
Keith closed his eyes as he felt the shuttle's engine roar as it finally broke free of  
the gravitational pull of Planet Arus. He opened them again when the starlit panorama of  
space was visible. Good old familiar infinity. He resisted an urge to look back at the planet  
he had left, knowing that it would only make him feel worse.  
If that were possible.  
His last fifteen minutes on Arus had been the most difficult of his life. The image of  
Allura's tearstained face was scorched upon his memory. He hated to see her unhappy,  
and he'd never seen her more unhappy than on that landing platform, with his shuttle  
waiting to take him away. To be honest, he hadn't felt that great himself. Keith had known  
that it would be hard to leave Arus, but he'd never imagined that it would elicit an almost  
physical pain.   
Keith put a hand over his eyes, which felt as if they were on fire. he told himself. He  
dropped his hand. He could imagine nothing worse than standing on that landing platform  
and not being able to tell Allura how much he cared. It had taken superhuman effort to  
walk away from her, especially after the kiss, the first they had ever shared...  
Shoving his regretful  
thoughts out of his head, he reached into a bag and removed a large folder: his debriefing  
material from Galaxy Garrison. Keith focused his attention on the familiar materials of a  
pilot: blueprints and backlogs. Thirty seconds later he gave up. It was no use. For the  
first time in his life, Keith's heart was not in his work.  
  
The Princess of Arus remained in her room for two days. Everyone was greatly  
worried about her, but Nanny assured them firmly that in time Allura would swallow her  
sadness and rejoin her friends.  
"You're probably right, Nanny," said Pidge, "but it sure doesn't make me feel any  
better."  
They were sitting at the breakfast table, gazing sadly at Allura's unoccupied chair at  
its head. No one had touched their food.   
Hunk frowned. "Boy, if I had Keith here I'd sure give him a piece of my mind. I don't  
care if he is--was--the captain. No one hurts the Princess like this."  
"He didn't do it on purpose, Hunk," Lance replied, a little tersely. "Each and every  
one of us knows that Keith would never willingly hurt the Princess." He sighed. " It's  
probably better that he isn't here; he wouldn't want to see her like this."  
Pidge leaned his head on his hand, his elbow propped on the table in an improper  
gesture that no one noticed. "I'm not sure that I do, either. I just wish there was something  
we could do."  
"There is." Koran spoke quietly from the opposite end of the table. "You can be  
her friends. That is what she needs most right now."  
Lance leaned back in his chair, thinking sadly to himself that Koran was wrong.   
None of them could give Allura what she truly needed; only Keith could do that. And Keith  
was gone.  
  
The last person Keith expected to see as he stepped off the shuttle at Galaxy  
Headquarters was Cyann Miller.  
Keith stopped dead in his tracks, hardly able to believe what he was seeing.   
Cyann was out of uniform, which itself was unusual, but even more incredible, she was  
walking, effortlessly and without the slightest trace of a limp.  
"Keith!" she called, waving.  
"Cyann--" he stammered, "you're--you don't have--" he was unable to finish.  
Cyann grinned knowingly and patted her right leg. "Prosthetic. Isn't technology  
wonderful?"  
"I'll say." Keith was amazed. "I had no idea--wow. Can you still fly?"  
A cloud crossed Cyann's face. "Physically yes. Technically no."  
"What does that mean?"   
"I'll go into it later. Come on, let's get the hell out of his ant farm."  
"How did you know I was coming?" Keith asked, as they headed out of the terminal.   
"Or are you going to tell me that a captain-supreme has her methods?"  
Cyann scanned the large space terminal, avoiding Keith's eyes. "Oh, I'm not  
captain-supreme anymore."  
"What? Why?"  
"Well," her tone was dry, "you know that space pilots are supposed to be in the  
peak of health right?"  
"Right."  
"Well, someone upstairs took that a little farther. All space pilots must be in a state  
of perfect physical--and mechanical --health."  
"You mean . . .?"  
"I'm grounded," Cyann finished bitterly.  
Keith stared. "That's awful. I've never heard of that policy."  
"I have a feeling nobody had until I arrived."  
"So, what do you do now?"  
"I navigate. I sit at a computer for eight hours a day, typing commands."  
"That's an ensign job!"  
"No kidding. Sometimes they let me actually monitor runs in the control tower."  
Keith was disgusted. "I can't believe it. You're way overqualified for that job! Did  
you get to keep your rank?"  
"Yep. I'm the only captain in electronic navigation."  
Keith shook his head. "I'm so sorry, Cyann. What an idiotic policy."  
"My sentiments exactly. It's not that big a deal, though," Cyann continued, moving  
slightly to the side to avoid someone in a hurry. "I'd rather work a menial job like this than  
leave the Garrison completely. It's all I know."  
"I know what you mean," Keith answered. "I'd like to talk to the General about that,  
though. It's unfair, even insulting, to do that to someone of your caliber."  
"Thanks for the ego boost, Keith, but I've already tried. Aldran and I have always  
been good friends, but I couldn't get him to budge an inch on this. I don't know what's  
happened to him. You'd hardly recognize Galaxy Garrison, Keith. It's become a mega-  
bureaucracy, handing out idiotic policies like this one right and left. By the way," she  
added, "due to regulation 641-F, you'll have to cut your hair."  
Keith put a hand to his shoulder-length black hair. "They never had a problem with  
it before."  
"That was over two years ago, Keith. Like I said, things have changed around  
here."  
They came to a large doorway that opened onto a huge circular room, with at least  
thirty doors leading to other branches of the spaceport. The room was a blur of light blue  
Galaxy Garrison uniforms. Keith and Cyann stopped for a moment, surveying the busy  
scene. "Home sweet home," Cyann quipped.  
"It brings back memories," said Keith. "The last time I was here, I was eighteen  
years old and on my way to the Voltron training program on Planet Ventus."   
"And I was sulking in my room over not being picked for the Voltron Force. Seems  
a lot longer than two years, doesn't it, Keith?"  
"It sure does." Keith felt his thoughts drift into the past. Two years ago, he'd been  
an eager soldier, on his way to a small planet half a million light years away, never  
dreaming what was to come. He'd never expected to see Galaxy Garrison again.   
Cyann turned to Keith. "We've got some time to kill. You hungry?"  
  
Cyann took a bite of her salad and chewed thoughtfully, gazing at Keith from the  
corner of her eye. He was staring out the large window next to the table, which looked out  
onto Garrison City. Everything was gray, the tall titanium buildings, the large photoreceptor  
dishes, and the concrete avenues. About a block away, the Space Academy was visible.   
Cyann looked out and saw the engineering library, the largest structure on campus, and  
the administration building, indicated by the large Allied Planets flag blowing in the breeze.  
"So," Cyann drawled. "Let me guess. Koran got tired of your crappy leadership  
skills and kicked your incompetent ass out of Arus, am I right?"  
Keith managed a faint smile at Cyann's familiar brusque humor. "Not exactly. Is  
that the Academy over there?" He nodded in its direction.  
Keith's abrupt change of topic confirmed Cyann's suspicions. He did not want to  
talk about his reasons for leaving Arus. Cyann knew that Keith had loved his job;  
something awful must have happened to make him leave. Cyann had a hunch what that  
might have been.  
"So," she said, trying again. "How's Allura?"  
Keith swallowed. "She's fine," he said quickly.  
Cyann sat back in her chair. "All right, I won't pry any further." She glanced at her  
watch. "I guess we'd better go. I'll take you to Headquarters."  
Keith took one last sip of the coffee he'd barely touched. "Thanks."   
Cyann knew that he wasn't just thanking her for the ride. "No problem, Captain.   
Shall we?"  
"Whenever you're ready, Captain."  
  
At the entrance to the mammoth structure of the Galaxy Garrison administrative  
building, Cyann showed a small ID card to a blue-uniformed guard with a small remote  
bound around his wrist.   
"Password?" the guard asked.  
"E pluribus unum."  
The guard pressed a code on the small remote and the double-sealed gate before  
them opened. They entered a large courtyard, surrounded by concrete walls, sterile and  
imperious. Before them stood another double-sealed door and a second security officer.   
Cyann looked back at Keith, whose expression was quizzical. "Security's been bumped up  
considerably, ever since we found the mole."  
"Mole?"   
"Someone pretty high up on the inside was allied secretly with the Drule Empire,"  
Cyann explained as she flashed her ID at the second guard, who, with a flick of his wrist,  
caused the second double-sealed door to slide open obediently. As they passed through  
the opening, toward yet another double-sealed door, Cyann continued her story. "They  
caught him a couple of months ago. He was the head dispatcher for the General. He used  
his privileges to pass information to the Drules hidden inside the default welcome beacon."  
Keith gave a crooked grin. "Very original."  
"Under different circumstances, I certainly would have been impressed. But since  
then, everybody's been super-suspicious. You have to flash your ID card everywhere, and  
I mean everywhere. That's why it's the first thing that will be issued to you. Luckily, you  
won't have to pass through security check. You have the General and me to thank for that.   
By the way, the General wants to see you before you check in at Voltron headquarters. I'll  
take you there myself."  
"Thank you." Keith looked up at the imposing structure. "Old place still looks the  
same."  
"That's about all you can say about it," Cyann remarked, a little dryly, flashing her  
ID card for the third time to a third blue uniform in front of the true building entrance. "Let's  
go."  
Inside Galaxy Headquarters, Cyann showed her ID to three more guards on their  
way to Check-in, and each time the guards ran the card through a different machine.   
Cyann raised her eyebrows at Keith as if to say: see what I mean? Keith understood her  
disgust. She was right; a lot had changed in two years.  
At Check-in, Keith's handwriting, security code, and fingerprint were cleared by the  
attendant and he was issued a small card just like Cyann's.  
"Immediate destination?" the Check-in woman asked.  
"Twelfth floor. General Aldran's office," Cyann stated.  
"May I see your verification, please?"  
Cyann handed the woman a slip of paper. The woman nodded and returned the  
paper. "If you will both please sign in. Your full name, please."  
This time Keith was the one who raised his eyebrows at Cyann. She made a  
gesture of annoyance as she duly signed her name. Keith signed his, and they moved  
toward a set of doors marked 'Elevators'. Cyann swiped her ID card through a large metal  
box on one of the doors, and obligingly they parted.  
When they were in the elevator, Keith exhaled audibly. "You weren't kidding when  
you said this place had changed. I've never seen such a paranoid system. I thought they  
caught the mole."  
Cyann nodded, looking as disgusted as Keith felt. "They did, but a lot of the boys  
upstairs don't think he was alone. They argue that it would have been impossible for only  
one man to pass the estimated amount of information via the beacon."  
"How much did we lose?"  
"The mole confessed that the operation had been going on for four years."  
"Four years!" Keith exclaimed, stunned. "No wonder everyone's so paranoid."  
"It was quite a blow to the Board of Control. The mega-security may be a bother,  
but the Board seems to think it's worth it."  
"I always say better safe than sorry, but this is approaching the ridiculous."  
"I agree. Here we are."   
The elevator doors opened into a large, lavishly furnished anteroom. Keith drew a  
breath, recalling the last time he had been summoned to this room.   
Cyann approached the sentry positioned at the door. "Captain Cyann Miller and  
Captain Keith--" she paused, looking at him.   
"Silver," he replied.  
The sentry nodded. "He's been expecting you." He opened the door for them.  
General Aldran rose from his chair.  
"Good afternoon, General," Cyann and Keith chorused and saluted as the door  
shut behind them.  
"Good afternoon," replied the General, nodding his head. "It's good to see you,  
Cyann."  
"Likewise, General."  
Aldran looked at Keith with interest. "Welcome back, Keith." He offered his hand.  
Keith shook it firmly. "Thank you, General. It's good to be back."  
"Your record has preceded you. I must say I am impressed."  
"Thank you, General."  
"How are our friends on Planet Arus?"  
"Very well, General."  
Aldran nodded. "Her Highness Princess Allura spoke highly of you."  
Keith's expression did not alter.  
Aldran continued, frowning slightly. "I hope you were not unhappy with your  
position, Keith."  
"On the contrary, General. I enjoyed it."  
"Apparently so. Tell me, Captain Silver--may I call you Keith?--why you waited  
almost seven months to obey my orders to return to Galaxy Garrison for a new  
assignment?"  
Cyann gave a small gasp of surprise. The General's eyes flicked to her briefly, then  
went back to Keith, scrutinizing him with narrowed eyes and bushy gray brows drawn  
together tightly.  
"With all due respect, sir, those orders were addressed to Chief Diplomat Koran,  
not to me." Keith replied noncomittally. "I stayed long enough to settle my affairs and train  
my replacement. I am ready to move on, sir; I look forward to a new challenge."  
The General appeared satisfied. "Well, I daresay you will find your new position so.   
Voltron headquarters are on the tenth floor. You can check in and pick up your new  
uniform there. Cyann will show you the way. You are dismissed."  
Keith and Cyann saluted and exited the room. They were silent until the elevator  
doors closed behind them.  
"Allow me to apologize for the General," Cyann said, her words sharp and clipped  
with irritation. "He's one of the nosiest men I've ever met."  
"It's all right. He had a right to ask why I disobeyed his orders."  
"He really summoned you back six months ago?" Cyann asked. "Just you?"  
Keith nodded. "I still have no idea why. Koran could not understand it either."  
"But he let you stay on Arus?"  
"Koran insisted on it. He planned to appeal Aldran's orders; he said I could not  
possibly be needed that urgently, not when there was still so much to be done on Arus."  
The elevator doors opened into a similar anteroom, less lavish than the general's.   
A dark-haired young man rose from a chair at their entrance. "Hey, Keith!"  
Keith grinned at his old friend. "Hi, Jeff, how's it going?" Jeff Castle was captain of  
Voltron of the Near Universe, informally known as Vehicle Voltron because it was made up  
of smaller vehicle ships, instead of robot lions. The two shook hands.  
"Good. And you?"   
"Good." Jeff looked happy. "Hey, Cyann."  
"Greetings and salutations, but enough about me," Cyann grinned. "This is Keith's  
homecoming, not mine."  
Jeff grinned back. "It is good to see you, Keith, although I must say I'm surprised. I  
thought you'd turned your back on good old GG."  
"So did I," Keith admitted.  
"Well," said Cyann. "I'm going to get the hell out of here and let you two get  
reacquainted. See you both later."  
"Bye, Cyann," they both said at the same time. They grinned at each other.  
"So," said Jeff, "what happened?"  
"What do you mean?" Keith replied, knowing very well what Jeff meant.  
"What happened to make you quit a job you loved--and one you were actually good  
at, I might add."  
Keith grinned and shrugged. "Stuff happens."  
"It wouldn't by any chance have anything to do with a certain gorgeous--"  
"Jeff," Keith interjected warningly. "Don't."  
Seeing that Keith was serious, Jeff made a compliant gesture. "All right. I'll lay off."   
He indicated toward a hallway. "You'll get your uniform and room assignment down there."   
They began to walk.  
"This is going to be weird," Jeff mused.  
"What?"  
"You and me on the same force. I hope you'll go easy on me."  
"I'll have to. Technically, you have superiority."  
"I see you've done your homework. Actually, it's pretty informal. We're a team, all  
equal. I will accept advice, however."  
"I'll keep that in mind."  
They reached a window with the word 'Check-in' below it. Keith showed his ID, was  
fingerprinted again, and given a white-and-blue uniform that matched Jeff's, a slip of paper  
with the number of his assigned room, and an official Galaxy Garrison communicator to  
wear on his wrist. After thanking the attendant, Keith eyed his new uniform. "It's been over  
two years since I wore one of these."  
"Somewhat more stylish than your last uniform."  
"Those uniforms were a court tradition, Jeff."  
"I take it back. Hey, Keith?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Do you like being back here?"  
Keith was silent a moment. "I'll get used to it."  
Jeff frowned. "Are you sure about that?"  
Keith sighed. "No, Jeff, I'm not. But don't worry; I'll survive."  
"I know you will. You'd better change; that red uniform sticks out like a sore thumb  
around here." Jeff watched Keith move off, he furrowed his brow. It was Keith's nature to  
internalize his feelings, but Jeff could tell that he was not happy. In fact, he was miserable.   
Jeff sighed and crossed his arms. He had a pretty good idea as to why Keith had left Arus,  
whether or not Keith wanted to talk about it. He had seen the way Keith behaved around  
Princess Allura of Arus--and Jeff could hardly blame him, the girl was a knockout.  
Keith returned, clad in his new uniform. It made Jeff feel curiously sad to see it.   
"How do I look?" Keith asked, with an obviously forced light tone.  
"Like Jeff with a wig." Both men turned to see Cyann. "It's eerie," she commented,  
sizing them up, "how much you two look alike. Are you sure you weren't separated at  
birth?" Not expecting an answer, she continued. "Anyway, the reason I'm here is--" she  
hesitated, "I just checked my mail, and, well, I got a letter from Arus."  
Jeff shot Keith a quick glance. He had flushed a little.  
Cyann looked almost as uncomfortable as Keith. "I thought maybe..." she trailed  
off.  
"No," Keith said quietly. "Thank you, but no."  
Cyann understood, nodding slightly. "Well, I guess you two have work to do. I'll  
see you later."  
When she was gone, Jeff looked at Keith. "I got the afternoon off. Would you like  
to see the city?"  
Keith shook his head, avoiding Jeff's gaze. "If you don't mind, I'll just go find my  
room."  
"No problem," Jeff said quickly, understanding that Keith wanted to be alone. "Talk  
to you later?"  
"Sure." Noting a sign that said "Staff Quarters," Keith moved down the hall in the  
direction the arrow indicated. On the way, he passed a lounge. Keith stopped. It was a  
large room, obviously designed to accommodate the entire Voltron staff and their friends.   
There were comfortable chairs and couches embossed with the Galaxy Garrison seal, and  
a bar to one side. A large window occupied the wall immediately opposite the doorway,  
showing the soft twilight of evening. A few bright stars were visible.   
The room was deserted. Keith entered, hearing the sound of his boots echo on the  
hard floor. He headed for the window. As he gazed at the familiar terran night, Keith  
suddenly felt more alone that he ever had in his lonely life. In the southeast, his eye settled  
on a faint star, low on the horizon: Arus's sun, the star Leonia. The planet itself was much  
too small to see, but even seeing the star that brought warmth to Planet Arus made him feel  
a little better, as if his friends were watching him. He wondered what the team was doing,  
wondered if . . .   
"Keith?"  
He turned, startled. "Cyann. Hi."  
"Hi, yourself. What's up?"  
Keith did not reply but turned back to the view, knowing that Cyann would  
understand.  
Cyann took a few steps forward, squinting a little. "Is that Leonia?  
"Yes."  
"It's beautiful." After a pause, she added, "You miss Arus." Only the slightest hint  
of question hung in the phrase.  
Several seconds passed before Keith replied, "Very much."  
Cyann suddenly felt sad. She stared out at the night sky for a few moments more,  
then said, "Good night, Keith."  
"Good night."  
  
The Princess Allura that emerged from her bedchamber after her two-day isolation  
was a different woman than the girl who had entered in tears, although she looked the  
same. Her pink uniform was starched and spotless, her top knot had never been so  
perfect. No one needed to know how long it had taken her shaking fingers to accomplish  
what had previously taken minutes. She was a little paler, her blue eyes had a new depth.   
She spoke a little slower. No one needed to know that her heart had been shattered to  
pieces and that a new, stronger model with a thick shell had taken its place.   
When she entered the rec room, she felt like a different person. Koran, Nanny, and  
the Voltron Forced gazed at her silently, trying to discern the physical representation of the  
change that they sensed. All Allura could do was gaze at her friends, at their concerned  
faces, at their guarded stances, at their wonderful familiarity. Suddenly, she knew that  
everything would be okay.  
"Boy, did you have us all worried," Lance commented a week later, as he and Allura  
strolled aimlessly through the Castle. "Hunk was ready to break down the door, and I  
confess that I had the same idea myself."  
Allura couldn't help a fond smile. "I appreciate your concern, but really, I was fine."  
"What were you doing in there for two days?"  
"Thinking, mostly."  
"About what?"  
"Everything..." She fell silent. He did not pry. Instead, he gazed around the metal  
walls of the corridor.   
"I keep thinking, whenever I come to a corner, that somehow, I'll meet Keith. That  
all of this is just a dream."  
"I know what you mean," Allura said softly.  
"Would you rather I didn't talk about it?"  
"No, it's all right. Everyone's been so concerned about me, no one thought of what  
you guys must be going through. He was your friend, too."  
Lance gave a half-smile. "I remember the first time I met Keith." He paused.  
"Go on..."  
"It was at the Academy. All five of us had been called into the General's anteroom.   
I remember being a little nervous; I was quite the daredevil in those days--okay, I still am--  
and I was thinking maybe I'd gotten caught or something. Anyway, I get to the anteroom,  
and I see these four total strangers. Actually, I thought I recognized Hunk from somewhere,  
but the rest of them I'd never seen."  
"Keith was the only one of us in uniform, Galaxy Garrison uniform, that is. Usually,  
no one wore their flight suits after hours. I thought he was a sentry at first, on account of  
his outstanding soldiership."  
"He was standing by the door to the General's private office. Hunk, Pidge, and  
Sven were at ease, but Keith stood up straight and tall, his arms behind his back like a  
soldier at attention. "   
"Just then, the General's door opened, and he beckoned us into his office. Now I  
was really confused. Why had four total strangers been summoned at once to see the  
General? I didn't know what to expect."  
"Aldran sat down behind his desk and told us that we'd all been selected to form the  
strike force that would fly five hundred thousand light years away to Planet Arus, from  
whom we had received an urgent distress signal. He told us about Zarkon, and Voltron;  
that each one of us would pilot a robotic lion that would merge with the others to form the  
most powerful defender of the universe: the mighty Voltron. I remember thinking that  
sounded pretty cool.  
"When Aldrin had finished the debriefing, he reminded us that we had the right to  
refuse the commission. He handed us a thick contract and told us to have it signed and  
witnessed by six o'clock that evening, or our names would be stricken from the list. He said  
there were plenty of standbys waiting for a chance like this. If we chose to accept, we  
would depart the following morning for the training camp on Planet Ventus, in the Amethyst  
Quadrant. He asked if we had any questions, then dismissed us." Lance shook his head in  
wonder. "It completely blew my mind."  
"Go on," prompted the Princess.  
"As soon as the General's door closed, Keith introduced himself and shook our  
hands. He was so polite I got the feeling his heart wasn't in it. All business, all boring; that  
was my first impression of Keith."  
Allura spoke up. "You mean you didn't like him?"  
Lance shook his head. "It wasn't that. It was like he was--removed from the rest of  
us. Oh, sure, he was polite and all, but Keith was the perfect soldier--always quoting  
Garrison policy and following orders without question. I thought being friends with him was  
a lost cause. All he talked about was how mighty Voltron was, how he was a symbol to the  
universe, that he would restore peace across the planets--yatta-yatta-yatta--"  
"In other words, you thought he was a real 'stick-in-the-mud'."   
"Completely," Lance replied honestly. "And I was right." He chuckled at Allura's  
shocked expression. "But, over the next few months, I got to know him. We got into a lot of  
tough spots, the boys and I, and we all came to see that there was more to Keith than duty  
and ideals. He may have been strict and boringly-honest, but he was also a true friend. I  
consider it an honor to know him."  
Allura looked at her feet. "I miss him."  
"So do I." Lance paused, hesitating. "You know, Keith does care about you."  
A few moments passed before Allura answered. "I know."  
"You've changed his life, Princess," Lance persisted. "He's so different now from  
the robot he was when I met him. Now he's--" Lance searched for the appropriate word,  
and chuckled when he found it, "human."  
Allura managed a small smile. Lance looked closely at her face, but could find no  
trace of sadness. The walked in silence for a few minutes, then  
Lance abruptly, said "All right, Your Majesty, that's it."  
She looked at him, surprised.  
"You've been way too quiet," he continued, in a persuasive tone. "You're bored,  
that's what, and I have the antidote. How would you like to learn to fly the red lion?"  
Her eyes lit up. "Really? You would teach me?"  
"Anything for Her Majesty," Lance replied, quickly kissing her hand.  
"What about Sven?"  
"Let me talk to him. How 'bout it?"  
"I'd love it." She was smiling. "You're a wonderful person, Lance."  
"I know, I know."  
Allura slapped his arm lightly. "All egotism aside, I appreciate your effort."  
Lance shrugged. "I can't let you wither away. Keith would come back and kick my  
ass."  
Allura looked thoughtful. "Do you really think he'll come back?"  
"Someday, yes. He once told me that these past two years have been the best of  
his life."  
She smiled. "Mine, too."  
They had reached the observation lounge. Allura moved toward the large window,  
looking appreciatively at the calm night. Thousands of stars were visible, all twinkling like  
jewels. Allura's eyes roved among them.  
"You know," came a younger voice behind them, "The star Sol should be visible  
right now."  
Allura thought. She and Lance turned to see Pidge and Hunk  
standing in the doorway. Pidge stepped forward, searching for something in the sky.   
"There," he said, pointing to a faint, twinkling star in on the northwest horizon.  
Everyone focused on the pale dot of light. No one needed to speak; they all knew  
that everyone was thinking the same thing: was Keith also staring at the stars, gazing back  
at them across five hundred thousand light years?  
"It's the end of an era," said Sven, appearing behind them, his arms folded across  
his chest.  
"I wonder what the next one will bring," the Princess said quietly.  
  
END PART ONE 


	2. The Tempest

Disclaimer: Voltron and its characters are the property of World Events Productions. All rights reserved. I don't own any of these characters and I am not receiving any profit for writing this story. Cyann Miller, Jedrel Jhaksinn, and the infamous Aldran are mine.  
  
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR  
A caveat-emptor for any Vehicle Voltron fans: I know very little about Vehicle Voltron (I've never even seen an episode of the show), but I have included two of its main characters, Jeff and Ginger, from the Air Team to bring some variety to my Lion Force-slanted stories. Because I have next to zero knowledge of these characters, I've had to sort of re-invent them for "Small Eternities." If I'm way off track, I apologize; I tried hard to stick to what character descriptions I could find on the web, but as with all my stories, there comes a time when the characters just start developing themselves.   
--Cyanne/Saturn Girl  
  
P.S. Special thanks to my brother, who helped me with the political stuff, and to my oh-so-supportive pre-readers (you know who you are) for their invaluable nitpicking. Finally, some punctuational notes: "speech," , ~flashbacks~  
  
  
PROLOGUE  
Four years after the resurrection of the first Voltron, and three years after the construction of the second Voltron, Space Marshal Aldran put forth a motion to the Interplanetary Senate to create a meeting of the minds behind both Voltrons. It would be a time for both teams to meet, compare notes, and plan for the future of the mighty robots. As the birthplace of the original Lion Voltron, Planet Arus was given the honor of hosting the very first Voltron Conference. However, the Advisor of Security at Galaxy Garrison expressed concern at the idea of leaving the Garrison without its special, unbeatable weapon: the fifteen pilots of the Galaxy Garrison Voltron Force. After even more debate, Aldran suggested that three representatives of Voltron of the Near Universe be sent to Arus. Jeff, being commander-in-chief, was elected automatically. He chose Ginger, second-in command of the Air Team, as his second. And at Aldran's insistence, Keith would attend as well (Aldran's reasoning was that since Keith had flown with both Voltrons, his opinion would prove especially valuable.)   
For the Voltron Force on Arus, it was bittersweet news. The sight of Keith's name on the official list of pilots attending the Conference both elated and unnerved them. As much as they had missed Keith's leadership, the two years that had elapsed since his departure would inevitably create a gulf. The Keith that was coming back would not be the Keith that had left, just as Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Sven, and Allura were not the same people who had bid him goodbye two years ago. This was what their hearts had wished for, but they couldn't help wondering in the back of their minds if it was right to revive the past, to rekindle old emotions, old conflicts . . .  
Time had marched unrelentingly forward. Many things had changed, yet, as the Voltron Force was about to find out, some things had remained tragically suspended in time . . .  
And so, after an absence of two years, Keith returned to Planet Arus--and the inevitable was set in motion . . .  
  
  
SMALL ETERNITIES  
by Cyanne   
  
  
**revised August 2002**  
  
  
PART TWO: THE TEMPEST   
  
  
  
  
--Earth--  
  
The uniformed man sat back in his chair, lacing powerful hands over an ample belly, casting a penetrating gaze upon the proud soldier before him. "I don't have to remind you, captain," the man's bushy eyebrows lifted slightly, "of the importance of this mission."   
"No, sir," replied the soldier obediently.  
The man's face remained immobile. "This is a delicate operation, captain. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that I am assured of your strength--that I am confident of your dedication to our cause."  
Blue eyes locked with black. After a brief, loaded pause, the uniformed man continued with quiet deliberation. "Your background with the Voltron Force gives you both an advantage and a disadvantage. It is important that you understand the difference."  
"I do, sir."  
"Good. Do not let it work against you."  
"No, sir."  
The uniformed man regarded the soldier with a keen, imperious eye. "You have been a model soldier for the past two years, captain. I'd hate to lose you."  
The soldier's jaw tightened with determination. "You won't, sir. "  
The man nodded approvingly. "I hope not." After another keen,   
searching look, he added, "Good luck, captain. You are dismissed."  
  
"Jeff!" whined a high-pitched female voice, echoing across the vast expanse of the spaceport. "Wait!"  
The solid-looking young man turned with an exasperated expression that quickly melted to one of amusement. "I told you not to bring so many bags," he chided, stopping his brisk pace to allow her to catch up.   
Ginger relaxed her grip on the three heavy duffel bags she was carrying and grimaced at him. "Stop being a captain for once and start being a gentleman," she snapped, thrusting one of the bags toward him.   
Jeff laughed as he slung it over his broad shoulder. "Couldn't you con ol' Cliff into helping you?"  
Ginger sent him a cute smirk as they began to walk. "He's too busy filling in for you, smarty. Besides," she added, winking at him, "I'll bet I can get Keith to carry one."  
"Carry one what?"  
Jeff turned to see Keith approaching, clutching a duffel bag of his own.   
"Hey, partner! "  
"Hey yourself," Keith replied good-naturedly. "I see someone got suckered into playing the gentleman."  
"Where I come from," Ginger said primly, "a gentleman considers it a privilege to help a lady with her bags." She offered him one expectantly.  
Keith accepted it without a word. "Come on, guys, we're going to be late meeting our fourth musketeer."  
"Fourth?" Jeff repeated. "I thought it was just the three of us."  
"Space Marshal Aldran sent an EM (=electronic memorandum) this morning. Didn't you check your mail?"  
Jeff shrugged. "I didn't think to. I thought the personnel for this mission would have been set in stone by now."  
"Nothing is set in stone around here," Keith remarked, his dark eyes narrowing. "Aldran must have made the decision at the last minute. I don't know who it is, though."  
Ginger nudged Jeff with a wink. "Maybe it's Lisa."  
Jeff cleared his throat. "Whoever it is, they're probably waiting for us." He quickened his stride. "We're supposed to depart in ten minutes."  
Her step lighter with only one bag to carry, Ginger expelled a contented sigh. "Boy, will I be glad to get away from Galaxy Garrison. I am so sick of politics I could scream."  
"Me, too," added Jeff darkly. "If I had known what a bureaucracy the   
Garrison would turn into, I might not have joined up."  
"Me, neither," retorted Ginger.  
When they reached the gate, Jeff craned his neck, searching for the elusive fourth pilot. "I don't see any--"  
"Then look behind you, silly!" called a familiar voice.  
The trio turned, and Ginger let out a gasp. "Cyann?"  
"Who else?" the tall redhead returned, flashing a smile at their confusion. "You didn't think I'd let you visit Arus without me, did you?"  
"But I thought--" Jeff faltered.   
Cyann waved an indifferent hand. "Not an issue." She flashed a high security badge, an impish twinkle in her eye, then picked up her bag and moved toward the gate. "Stop gaping, people. Planet Arus is waiting for us."  
They had no choice but to follow. The shuttle would take them to the Calthyn spaceport, in the Pryndl system, a major stopoff point between the Emerald and Azure quadrants. There, they would each board their own Alpha-One-F--the fastest ships in the Allied Planets Space Force--and complete the journey to the Leonian system. Jeff and Ginger led the way into the small spacecraft, with Keith and Cyann bringing up the rear.  
"I don't know how you pulled this off," Keith whispered, "but I'm glad you did."  
"I don't want to stay in this bureaucratic hellhole any more than you do," Cyann shot back under her breath. "Wave bye-bye to GG," she quipped lightly, once they were seated, motioning to the familiar gray landscape in the window.  
"You're in an awfully good mood," Jeff observed with good-natured   
suspicion.  
"Why shouldn't I be? I'm getting a vacation from politics."  
"Not necessarily," Keith contradicted. "What do you think the Conference is?"  
She smirked sheepishly. "Oh, that. Well, at least there'll be a different view out the window."  
Ginger giggled, as Keith and Jeff exchanged a look. "I hope we're doing the right thing," Jeff mused, the look in his eyes implying a deeper meaning.  
Keith met his solemn gaze evenly. "So do I."   
  
--Arus--  
  
Nanny shuffled anxiously down the hall, dabbing at her forehead with a handkerchief. So much to do! Today was the day of the first Great Voltron Conference, and it was being held on Planet Arus--in less than one hour! It made Nanny's head spin to think of it. She'd been on her feet for three solid weeks, supervising the decorations, catering, and cleaning of the Castle of Lions from top to bottom. She'd been up since five that morning, overseeing the final preparations for the great event. The time was now ten o'clock; the representatives of the other Voltron Force would be arriving soon--the conference would commence the very next day--and no one had seen Princess Allura!  
"Oh, that girl," Nanny muttered. "Does she think I have nothing better to do than play hide-and-seek?"  
Nanny reached the Princess's door and flung it open without bothering to knock. She opened her mouth to shout, and stopped in surprise.  
The Princess of Planet Arus sat calmly at her dresser, brushing her long, golden hair. Without turning, she said, "Good morning, Nanny."  
The nurse could only stare. Abruptly, she sputtered, "You're awake."  
Allura's reflection shot Nanny a withering look. "Of course I am, Nanny."  
"Where have you been all morning? No one has seen you."  
Allura set her brush down and began to twist her hair into a bun. "I went for a walk after lion practice."  
"On today, of all days! Don't you know that it's--"  
"The day of the Voltron Conference," Allura finished. "I know, Nanny." She began to put pins in her hair.  
Nanny was frustrated by Allura's calmness. "You're--why are you wearing your flight suit?"  
"I am attending this conference as a pilot, not a princess. And don't argue with me," Allura added, when she saw Nanny's mouth open.   
Nanny suddenly felt sheepish. Sometimes, it was hard to remember that her darling Princess was twenty-two, well beyond childhood--and henpecking.  
"Nanny," Allura continued, rising from her seat. "Shouldn't you be   
overseeing something in the kitchen? Counting place settings or something?"  
"I already--"  
"Well, do them again!" Allura interrupted huffily, shoving Nanny out of the room. As the door closed behind the old woman, Allura heaved a sigh. She was in no mood for Nanny's nitpicking. Not today, of all days.  
Allura thought. A small eternity. She could hardly believe this was happening. For the billionth time, she reached for the well-worn announcement:   
  
VOLTRON: THE GREAT CONFERENCE  
15-45-2281 S.C.  
Planet Arus, Leonian System, Azure Quadrant, Denubian Galaxy  
"For the Purpose of Discussing And Planning for the Bright Future of the Mighty Robot, Voltron."  
ATTENDING:  
Voltron of the Far Universe (Lion Force):  
HRM Princess Allura Azhura Alielyonne (of the Lion)  
Commander Sven Jacobsen  
Lt. Commander Lance Lanyeri  
Lt. Pyr "Pidge" Osyn  
Lt. Heathcliff "Hunk" Chambers  
Voltron of the Near Universe (Vehicle Force):  
Commander-Majoris, Captain Jeffrey Castle (Air Team)  
Commander-Minoris, Captain Keith Silver (Space Team)  
Lt. Commander Ginger Cameron (Air Team)  
  
Allura mused, turning the name over in her mind. For the first time since the arrival of the Voltron Force on Arus--four years ago-- Koran had cited Arusian diplomatic tradition by insisting that the full names of each person attending the Conference be used, even though it went against an old Galaxy Garrison policy intended to protect the families of soldiers during wartime. For certain long-term assignments in times of war, a Galaxy Garrison soldier was prohibited from using his family name unless it was absolutely necessary. This reduced the risk of blackmail, abduction, or other forms of harassment of the soldier's family by the enemy. As a result, Allura had never known the family names of any member of the Voltron Force. It made her sad somehow, to read these strange syllables after their familiar names; it made them sound like strangers, remote from her, instead of the friends she had cherished for four years.  
In just one hour--  
she admonished herself. I will not think on this anymore. We are all different people now--aren't we? Suddenly Allura did not want to be alone with her turbulent thoughts. She pulled open the door again and entered the corridor.  
"Morning, Allura."  
She turned. "Lance. Good morning."  
"On your way to the control room?"  
"I suppose. I had to get out of my room before I drove myself crazy."  
"I know what you mean." Lance fell into step beside her. "Nervous?"  
"A little."   
"We all are, Princess. This'll be some reunion."  
A few seconds of silence. "It feels," Allura began, "almost like we're going back in time, you know?"  
"No kidding. The past returns--" Lance mugged a melodramatic   
expression of horror, "with a vengeance."  
Allura laughed. "I hope not."   
Their eyes met and they both smiled. Lance's eyes softened as he noticed that Allura's smile never reached her eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.  
Allura looked into his eyes. "I'm scared, Lance."  
"It's okay," she heard him whisper, as his arms encircled her for a hug. For an instant, Allura relished the feeling, then self-awareness hit. Their affair--brief as it was--had been over for nearly a year, yet sometimes, it felt so good to be held . . . Allura sighed and drew away. Lance would always be a special friend, but a friend nonetheless.  
Apparently having reached the same conclusion, Lance cleared his throat and dropped his arms. "Sorry," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Old habits die hard."  
Allura's expression became even more pensive. "Do they really?" she   
asked.  
Catching her meaning, Lance looked away, obviously uneasy. For once, he had nothing to say.   
Allura suddenly touched his arm. "Lance, what if . . ." she trailed off, unable to finish. But again Lance understood.  
"Allura," he said honestly, "there isn't a man in this universe who could forget you."  
"Hey, you two!"  
Allura and Lance looked behind them and saw Pidge striding down the hall. Even at sixteen, his old nickname still suited him. His lithe, muscular figure stood to Lance's shoulder; his reddish-brown hair no longer stood on end--well, mostly--and the intervening years had evened out his voice. But, behind the large frames he still wore, his eyes sparkled every bit as merrily as they always had. Pidge was smiling.   
"Are you guys pumped? I sure am."  
Allura and Lance exchanged a look. "Hi, Pidge," Allura said, trying for   
cheerfulness.  
Pidge grinned, seeing right through her ploy. "Don't worry, Allura," he   
assured cheekily, "when Keith gets a look at you, he won't know what hit him."  
Allura flushed and gave Lance a "help-me" look. "Pidge, please. That   
was a long time ago."  
He raised his eyebrows. "Not so long. Only two years."  
"That's enough, Pidge," Lance intervened, shooting a concerned glance at the Princess.  
Allura avoided his gaze. "We should get to the control room," she said to mask her discomfort. "Koran will need help sending the landing coordinates."  
  
Koran was at the main computer when the three arrived at the control room. Hunk and Sven were already there.   
Koran turned. "Ah, Princess. There you are."  
Allura's eyes softened at the sight of her aging chief minister. It always made her heart sink to see the streaks of gray in his thick hair and mustache. How old he looked behind the spectacles he'd begun wearing last year! she thought, a lump in her throat. The stress of a long life lived in war was finally taking its toll.  
"Are they in sight yet?" Pidge asked.  
"They're a few parsecs away," replied Koran, "but they've appeared on our long-range scanners."  
"Looks like they're coming in fine," Sven observed, scanning the long-  
range radar. "They haven't forgotten the way."  
"I should hope not," remarked Lance dryly.  
"They'll need their first-approach coordinates pretty soon," Allura noted. "I'll do them, Koran." She stepped up to the control panel and began to punch keys.  
"Thank you, Princess," Koran said fondly. "I'm afraid I'm not much help these days."  
"Nonsense," the Princess replied, looking up. "We couldn't run this place without you. You know that."  
The sadness in Koran's eyes deepened, but he forced a smile.   
Something began to beep. "Hey," Pidge said excitedly, "they're getting closer! Keep sending the coordinates, Princess."  
Absorbed in her task, Allura did not reply.  
"In a few minutes," Sven scanned the screens, "we'll have radio contact."  
"Boy, it'll be good to hear Keith's voice again," declared Pidge. "Can I   
open the channel?"  
"Better let me do it, Pidge," Sven smiled. "He may not recognize you."  
"We have radio contact," announced Hunk two minutes later from another terminal. "You wanna do the honors, Sven?"  
Sven moved over to Hunk's computer and picked up the small long-  
distance comlink. He spoke into it. "Good morning. How's the weather up   
there?"  
A warm, familiar voice came back. Allura's fingers froze on the keyboard.   
"Absolutely beautiful, Sven," said Keith. "How's our approach looking?"  
"Ditto. We'll continue to send you the coordinates. It's a little windy down here."  
"Copy that."  
"Are you okay, Princess?" inquired Hunk.  
Allura mentally shook herself. "I'm fine. Continuing to send coordinates."  
"Can we get 'em on the viewscreen?" Hunk asked.  
"Working on it, buddy," replied Lance, typing away at yet another terminal. "There."  
Four fighter jets appeared on the large viewscreen that took up most of one wall. "Alpha-One F's," Pidge identified.  
Hunk looked up in confusion. "I thought there were only supposed to be three."  
"So did I." Koran and Allura exchanged a concerned look.   
Just then, as the fighters turned, one of them performed a lightning three-sixty spin. "What in the world--" Allura began, startled by the pilot's rather undignified trick.   
"That's not Keith or Jeff's style," Pidge stated. "Do you think it could be   
Ginger?"  
"That's not like her, either." Allura looked confused. "Who else could it be?"  
Hunk studied the viewscreen thoughtfully. "You know, Lance, you'd   
almost think it was--"  
"Impossible," Lance interrupted, catching his meaning. But despite his   
words, his brown eyes remained fixed curiously on the show-off pilot.  
"I must have misunderstood Space Marshal Aldran," explained Koran, his brow still furrowed.   
"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," Sven assured him.  
"Sending final approach coordinates," Allura announced, almost in a   
whisper. She was afraid her voice would shake just like her fingers. She keyed the last command and stepped away from the terminal.   
"In another few minutes," Koran said, "we will go to the landing bay to meet them."  
Much to her annoyance, Allura suddenly felt light-headed. Trying to act naturally, she put a hand on her forehead and was startled to find it damp.  
"Ready, Princess?" Lance, Hunk, Pidge and Sven chorused.  
Allura shoved away her dizziness. "Let's go."  
As they headed for the bay, Allura applied every diplomatic trick she knew to calm her nervousness. She was confident that outside, she appeared unaffected, but mentally, she was completely frazzled. she thought. she amended,   
Allura caught Lance's eye; he gave her a confident smirk. She smiled her thanks. And then they were at the bay.  
  
"All right, everyone," Jeff commanded, "commence final approach. You've got your landing coordinates."  
"It's been so long since I've been here," Ginger marvelled, "and it's still as beautiful as I remember. Even more so."  
"Beats good old polluted Galaxy Garrison," replied Jeff.  
"Cyann, everyone's going to flip when they see you," Ginger predicted.  
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Cyann answered. In her Alpha-F, she closed the "party" comm and opened a private line to Keith's ship. "How's it going over there?"  
"Just fine," Keith replied smoothly, his tone perfectly natural.   
Cyann thought. She knew that, despite his calm words,   
Keith had to be feeling something--in fact, she felt a little something herself.   
"Hey, do you want to talk about it?" she offered.  
"Not really," Keith replied shortly but politely, and closed the connection.  
  
The four one-man fighter ships arced gracefully on their final approach. The air began to roar and the scent of engine fuel intensified as the ships hovered closer and closer to the bay. Finally, they touched down, and the roaring ceased abruptly as the pilots cut their engines.  
Allura took one last, deep, long breath, and exhaled as slowly as possible. The group watched as the pilots pushed open their hatches and climbed out of their ships. At first, Allura could not tell who was who. They all wore similar uniforms with the Galaxy insignia on the breast, their heads were obscured by helmets, and they were still too far away to discern facial features. Allura tried nonetheless.  
The pilot who had emerged from the ship on the far left got his helmet off first. It was Jeff, looking essentially the same as he had the last time she'd seen him, during the "Fleet of Doom" skirmish; as usual, his resemblance to Keith startled everyone, though the two were not related. The next pilot to remove her helmet was a slight, attractive woman with curly blond hair, and freckled cheeks; Allura recognized Ginger immediately, though she hadn't seen her in almost three years. As Ginger and Jeff began to walk towards the group, Allura kept her eyes on the two remaining pilots. She suddenly sucked in her breath.  
While she was identifying Ginger, the last two pilots had removed their   
helmets. Allura's jaw dropped at the first of two considerable shocks: the fourth pilot (and undoubtably the daredevil) was Cyann Miller! And even more shocking was the fact that she was walking! Allura thought in amazement, remembering Dr. Gorma's grim prognosis of Cyann's injury after the Coral Sector Skirmish.  
Cyann's long red hair swung around her shoulders as she transferred her helmet under her arm. She walked smoothly and confidently, no trace of a limp. Allura wondered. But then she forgot about Cyann's miracle. Beside Cyann was--another Jeff? Allura was confused for a brief moment, then realization struck.   
His hair had been cut. That was her first thought upon seeing the man   
who had stubbornly taken up residence in her heart--his hair was short. Allura thought absurdly. As Keith neared, she noticed the differences. This man was taller than Jeff, and there was a certain mature line to his face that made him appear older than his years. Keith was as lithe as ever; Jeff was still a little stocky. For some reason, Allura was suddenly paralyzed by choking fear. Was Keith actually there, walking toward her, or was she dreaming? Instinctively, she forced her eyes away.  
Koran stepped forward. "Welcome to Arus, Captain Castle, Lieutenant Cameron."  
Jeff shook the diplomat's hand. "Jeff, please, and thank you, Koran."  
Koran offered his hand to Ginger, and she shook it just as firmly. "It's wonderful to be here again," she gushed.  
"Keith!" the Voltron Force--minus Allura--cried. He was suddenly   
surrounded.  
"Look at you!" Lance remarked with a wide grin. "They've made you   
respectable!"  
Keith grinned back. "Only on the outside."  
"Wow, Keith!" Hunk exclaimed, pumping his hand excitedly. "I can't   
believe you're here!"  
"Good to see you, Hunk," Keith replied, not even wincing at Hunk's   
mammoth grip. Then his eyes widened. "Pidge?"  
The young man smiled. "I look a little different, huh?"  
"I'll say. When did you grow two feet? We'll have to think up a new   
nickname for you."  
"Can't call me Half-Pint anymore," Pidge grinned.  
"We'll have to change it to Full Pint, then, won't we?" Cyann piped up, coming forward and reaching out to affectionately pinch Pidge's cheek, chuckling to herself as the young man blushed.  
"Welcome, back, Keith," Sven said, also smiling.  
"Hey, Sven! How's married life treating you?"  
Sven looked surprised--and a little pink. "You heard?"  
Keith laughed, clapping a friendly hand on Sven's shoulder. "One does hear things. Belated congratulations."  
Cyann held out her hand to Sven. "Cyann Miller," she said brightly. "I've heard a lot about you, all of it good."  
"Likewise," Sven returned, shaking her hand amiably.  
Standing next to Sven, Allura finally found the courage to lift her eyes-- and met Keith's.   
His eyes were the same: dark, intense, and wonderfully familiar. Allura suddenly wondered how she could have gone for two years without the memory of those eyes scorched upon her brain. In the small eternity that their eyes held, the two-year gulf slowly closed, until Allura could feel the pain of that final goodbye as if it were only yesterday.   
"Hey, can an old friend get a hug?"  
With effort, Allura tore her gaze away from Keith. "Cyann!" They   
embraced. Allura could still feel Keith's eyes on her. "What--how--you're--"  
Cyann grinned. "That's right, you haven't heard." She gestured to her right leg. "It's prosthetic. Latest technology and all that."  
Allura was stunned. "That's wonderful! I'm so happy for you! That means you can fly again?"  
"It's a long story," Cyann dismissed the subject. "So," she continued, placing a hand on her hip and narrowing her eyes inquisitively, "what's your secret?"  
Allura was confused. "I don't understand."  
Cyann shook her head, pretending to be exasperated. "How can you still look so great at the rickety old age of twenty-two?"  
Allura blushed at the compliment.  
Lance stepped forward with a crooked grin. "You're not so bad yourself, beautiful."   
"Aw, I'll bet you say that to all the girls," Cyann countered smoothly, flashing him with a cunning smirk.  
Lance grinned back, taking a step forward as if to embrace her, but at the last minute he checked himself. Instead, he asked, "So what are you doing 'round these parts, stranger?" Cyann started to reply, but he interrupted. "No, wait, let me guess. It's a long story, right?"  
"Hello, Princess," Keith said, capturing Allura's attention. His voice sounded odd, a little gruff. Allura wondered.   
"Hello," she managed to reply, then found that her tongue was completely tied. "Welcome back," she offered lamely.  
"Thanks." An awkward silence.  
Koran cleared his throat discreetly. "Captain Miller, I must say this is a   
surprise. Space Marshal Aldran did not mention that you would be among those attending the Conference."  
Cyann answered flippantly, "It was kind of a last-minute thing."  
Koran looked puzzled. Before he could inquire further, Jeff stepped   
forward. "Long time, no see, Princess."  
Again, Allura had to tear her eyes away from Keith's. "Likewise. Welcome to Arus."  
"It's wonderful to see you again," said Ginger, giving Allura a quick hug.  
"You look great," added Jeff.  
"I hope you'll enjoy your stay on our beautiful planet," Allura replied, feeling like a broken record.   
Koran nodded at Keith. "How have you been, Keith?"  
Keith bowed back. "Very well, thank you. And yourself?"  
The old man smiled, his eyes sad. "I'm still around."  
Keith frowned slightly at his melancholy tone. "I hope everything on Arus is all right. You've not had troubles here?"  
"Oh, we've had our share," Koran admitted wryly. "But we have emerged victorious, thanks to the mighty Voltron."  
"Of course," Keith answered, nodding. He looked around. "Where's   
Nanny?"  
"Inside running around like a chicken with its head cut off," Allura replied, motioning toward the Castle.   
Keith smiled. "Still going strong, huh?"  
"Very." There was a wry flatness to her tone, but her smile made up for it.   
Koran cleared his throat again. "Well, shall we go inside?"  
  
"So," Lance said, falling into step beside Keith, "what have you been doing the past two years?"  
"Being," Keith answered absently, his gaze fixed ahead of them, where the Princess, Cyann, and Ginger were walking.  
Lance thought he had a pretty good idea what Keith was thinking about. "Allura's breathtaking, isn't she?" he said slyly, then laughed at the all-too-familiar look that Keith gave him. "Just testing your reflexes, cap."  
Shaking his head ruefully, Keith allowed himself a sheepish smile. "And what about you, Lance? Hundreds of girls, right?"  
"Thousands," Lance answered automatically, as something chimed in his subconscious. His finely-tuned senses were twitching, and for an instant, Lance had the uncomfortable feeling that Keith could see right through him, into the past. he thought guiltily. he amended a second later, . Still discomfited, Lance searched the other man's eyes, but Keith's expression was unreadable. Shaking off the strange sensation, Lance launched into another subject.  
While Lance was talking, Keith drifted off again. He couldn't keep his   
mind--or eyes--off the Princess. When he left Arus, she had been the loveliest creature in the universe. Now the woman he remembered was a hag compared to the beauty he saw before him now. It took his breath away.  
"Keith? Hey, Keith?"  
Keith started out of his reverie. "Yeah?"  
Lance's gaze was knowingly amused. "I asked if you saw Cyann a lot, back at Galaxy Garrison."  
"Too much," Keith joked. "She met me at the spaceport my first day back."  
Lance looked surprised, and even a little suspicious. "She did? How did she know?"  
"I have no idea. I'm thankful for it, though. She helped me re-learn the ropes around there. She's an amazing woman."  
There was another spark of that inexplicable tension that both men felt but neither chose to analyze. Lance narrowed his eyes slightly, then his face relaxed into a fond smile. "Yeah, she is," he replied quietly, his gaze settling on Cyann.  
"Hey, Keith?" Hunk appeared beside them, breaking the spell. "You up for a judo match later? I'd like a challenge for once."  
"I resent that implication," Lance shot back.  
"Maybe later, Hunk," answered Keith. "Let me stretch my legs first. I've been sitting in a fighter jet for three days."  
"Boy, it's good to have you back, Keith," said Pidge, appearing beside   
Lance. "Seems like old times, doesn't it?"  
Keith looked pensive. "Not exactly, Pidge."  
  
"So, Keith, tell us about your new job."   
The team, Koran, Jeff, Ginger and Cyann were sitting at the dinner table. They'd exhausted the subject of what had happened on Arus since Keith's departure (a few early ugly battles with Lotor, then relative quiet afterward); now Hunk had turned the spotlight onto Keith himself.  
Their former commander was quiet a moment, considering the question. "It's very similar to what I did here, only Jeff's in charge, not me."  
"Although sometimes it's hard to tell," Jeff joked.  
Keith smiled at him. "I command the Space Team, an extension of Jeff's Air Team. When we form Voltron, my team forms into a set of wings and a double-shielded helmet. It makes Voltron more maneuverable and protects the main cockpit."  
"Something I'm very grateful for," Jeff interrupted, for his was the main cockpit.  
"It's also helpful in an emergency because it runs separate from Jeff's peripheral control," Keith went on. "That way, if Voltron takes a nasty hit, our systems will still operate. And if, necessary, I can take over peripheral control."  
"Wow." Pidge was impressed. "That's a pretty important job."  
"I wouldn't expect Galaxy Garrison to give him anything less," said Sven.  
"Do you enjoy it?" Allura asked.  
There was a brief hesitation before Keith answered, "Yes, I do."  
Silence.  
"And Cyann, what are you doing these days?" asked Pidge, to fill the silence.   
Cyann flicked her eyes down, smiling faintly, her arms folded on the table. "A bit of everything. Mostly navigation."  
"Navigation?" Lance repeated, narrowing his eyes. "You're not a pilot?"  
"Not technically." Cyann shifted in her chair. "I lost my wings when I   
returned to Galaxy Garrison."  
"What? Why?" Pidge queried.  
"Some mumbo jumbo about pilots having to be in perfect mechanical health," Cyann scoffed. "Somehow my leg didn't quite make the cut." She shrugged. "The powers-that-be sent me to navigation, and that's where I've stayed. Sometimes I work in the control tower, but I've got to say I prefer navigation." She sounded bitter.  
"That's awful, Cyann," Allura said sincerely. "I don't see how they could do that to you, with your record. It's ridiculous."  
"It's not so bad," Cyann explained, forcing a smile. "At least I didn't get an honorable discharge."  
"I can't believe--" Hunk was sputtering. "Who made up that stupid rule?"  
"The Board . . ." Cyann rolled her eyes.  
Lance crossed his arms in front of his chest. "That's the most asinine thing I ever heard of. I've a good mind to register a complaint."  
"Wait a minute," Allura chimed in, remembering something she had learned about Galaxy Garrison policies. "If you lose your wings, you're restricted from all piloting duties. But you flew here in an Alpha-F. How did you get permission to do that?"  
"Yeah, you never actually explained that, Cyann," Jeff spoke up, his small dark eyes serious as they focused on Cyann with a gentle challenge. "Spill it. How'd you wrangle an all-expense paid trip to the Denubian Galaxy?"  
Cyann was quiet for a moment. Then she got a devilish smile. "I know a few people..."  
"You don't mean--" Allura began, her blue eyes widening.   
Cyann grinned. "I didn't want to miss this party, so I pulled a few strings."  
Allura stared at Jeff, Ginger, and Keith. "And you all knew about this?"  
"It was just as much a surprise to us, Princess," Keith answered. "We got notice on the morning of our departure."  
"Those must be some strings," Pidge marvelled.  
"What can I say?" Cyann flashed another smile. "I'm a friendly person."  
"Yeah, I guess being friendly with Space Marshal Aldran comes in handy once in a while," Jeff remarked, leaning back in his chair.  
"Jeff. . . " Ginger shot him a look of rebuke.  
Cyann met Jeff's gaze testily. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"  
A beat. "Come on, you two," Keith admonished warily. "We didn't come here to argue."  
Allura looked from Jeff to Cyann to Keith in bafflement. "Is there something wrong?"  
"Nothing's wrong, Allura," Jeff answered smoothly. "I apologize for my tone. I'm sure that Aldran had a perfectly logical reason for sending Cyann, even though she's not a member of the Voltron Force."   
"She was for a while," Lance reminded him defensively.  
"A month as an alternate pilot hardly qualifies one as an expert," Koran countered. "If you'll pardon me for asking, Captain Miller, why did Aldran send you to Arus?"  
"Koran," Allura said reproachfully. "This isn't an inquisition."  
"It's all right, Allura," Cyann replied, "it's a fair question." She looked at Koran. "Officially, my orders are to ensure that matters at the Conference go according to Galaxy Garrison protocol."  
Koran looked even more skeptical. "Princess Allura and I are well acquainted with the Galaxy Garrison diplomatic procedure," he replied, a trifle huffily. "Aldran needn't have sent a monitor."  
Cyann shrugged. "I can't speak for him, but apparently he felt it was   
necessary to send an impartial."  
"But what do you know about diplomatic protocol?" Jeff inquired.  
"I've often assisted Aldran with Board legislation. With all the politics   
swirling around galaxy headquarters, I've got a pretty good understanding of   
standard Garrison protocol."  
Just then, the door to the dining room opened, and a page entered, bearing a letter and handing it to one of the stewards posted at the door. The page whispered something, to which the steward, a wiry man with wavy jet black hair and a pale face, nodded and waved the page away.   
The steward approached Princess Allura with the note, walking around to the head of the table. Cyann, who had been sitting with her back to him, glanced at the man, and the color slowly drained from her face.  
The steward handed Allura the note. "Thank you, Jed," the Princess said politely.  
"My Princess." The servant bowed, a hand on his chest, and, after a quick word with another steward, departed the room.  
Keith had a frown on his face. "I don't remember him," he said quietly, still eyeing the man. "Is he new? I mean--in the last two years?" This last with a sheepish grin.  
"As a matter of fact, he's very new," answered Allura. "He showed up a few days ago, practically starving. He said that he'd come up from the southern continent after his village had been attacked by bandits. His family had all been killed. I felt sorry for him and offered him a position until he could decide what to do."  
"You and your bleeding heart," Lance remarked affectionately. But he   
wasn't smiling.  
"I will do anything I can for my people," Allura retorted firmly.   
Hunk had noticed Cyann's pallor. "Cyann, are you okay?"  
Her vacant eyes snapped to attention. "Fine, I'm fine. I just--bit my   
tongue." Her cheeks suddenly flushed.  
Lance gave her a funny look, then looked at the Princess. "I still say you should have run at least some kind of background check on this guy. You never know."  
Allura thought with mild irritation. "Lance, we discussed this. With our new surveillance equipment, we don't need to worry about spies anymore, not since Planet Doom was destroyed."  
"Destroyed?" repeated Keith incredulously. "When?"  
Allura looked at him in surprise, noticing that Jeff and Ginger wore similar expressions. "You mean you don't know?"  
"Know what?"  
"About a year after you left here," Pidge explained, "the Nebulon Comet passed through our galaxy. Its eccentric orbit passed too close to a massive star and the comet broke up into about a hundred pieces. Planet Doom was in the wrong place at the wrong time; it was bombarded by fragments, and eventually the atmosphere escaped into space."  
"It's a just a wasteland now," contributed Sven. "All life on Doom was destroyed during the bombardment, and since there's no air, nothing can grow. You really didn't know?"  
Keith shook his head in amazement. "We never heard a thing about it."   
"Well, that's just like Galaxy Garrison," Cyann said shortly. "Only   
concerned with its own neighborhood."  
"But how could the Board keep something like that from us?" Jeff wondered. "We've had trouble with Zarkon and Lotor, too, even though they came from the other side of the Alliance. To not inform us of their destruction is a serious breach of our intelligence policy."  
"Policy shmolicy," Cyann put in. "The Board of Control changes policy on a weekly basis, to suit its own needs and no one else's."  
"That's a pretty serious accusation, Cyann," Sven commented. "I'm sure it can't be that bad."  
"It can and it is," she replied stubbornly. "When it came to you guys out here, Galaxy Garrison's never given a damn. Believe me, I know." She sounded disgusted.  
Keith gave a serious nod. "It does seem like Arus has never been high on the Garrison's priority list. Remember when we first came to Arus, and got caught in the middle of Zarkon's attack? I radioed for backup I don't know how many times, and never got an answer, let alone assistance."  
"That is true," Sven was forced to admit. "It was very odd."  
Allura had been listening in quiet astonishment. "I can't believe the Galaxy Alliance has gotten that corrupt. However," she added, looking at Koran, "that would certainly explain those ridiculous reforms Space Marshal Aldran sent us a few months ago."  
Cyann seemed to perk up. "You know about those?"  
The Princess nodded. "I wish I could say I didn't. They're appalling. Koran and I refused to have anything to do such extortion."  
"Aldran believes it's the only way to make the Galaxy Alliance the most formidable power in the universe," Cyann informed her ambivalently.  
"If mercenaryism is the best he can do," Lance put in dryly, "then Galaxy Garrison needs to find itself a new leader."  
"I agree," Keith said quietly.   
Judging from the stony expression on Keith's face, Allura deduced that something must be very wrong at the galactic headquarters. Jeff, Ginger, and Cyann looked similarly grim. She felt a brief stirring of unease.   
Suddenly she remembered the letter she was holding. She opened it   
quickly and frowned as she read its contents. "That's strange."  
"What is it, Allura?" Ginger asked.  
"All it says is: 'The fire which seems out often sleeps beneath the cinders. Be careful.' How strange."  
"Is there a signature?" Keith inquired at the same time that Lance asked, "Do you recognize the handwriting?"  
Allura shook her head to both questions, her brow furrowing in worry.   
"I don't like it," Lance pronounced. "Get that note to the lab. They may be able to tell us where it came from."  
Allura rang a small bell. The door opened and the steward called Jed entered and bowed respectfully. "My lady?"   
"Please take this the lab to be analyzed, Jed." She handed the note back to him.  
Jed bowed again with a thin smile. "At once, my lady." He exited.  
When Allura turned back to her friends, she noticed that Lance, Keith, and now Jeff, were all gazing after the servant suspiciously. She felt a twinge of apprehension.  
Cyann broke the worried silence. "Why don't we adjourn--somewhere   
else?"  
  
Jed walked quickly but calmly down the corridor, the letter clutched tightly in his hand. While his expression remained static, his thoughts revolved furiously. With effort, he relaxed his tense muscles, nodding serenely at another passing servant. .  
Jed turned down a darkened, seldom used corridor, slightly off the course on which he had been sent. He glanced about the hallway, saw no one, and deftly removed a small comm unit the size of a fingernail from a corner of the wall. He flicked it on.  
Immediately a familiar voice issued from the communicator. "About time you reported to me, Jedrel."  
"Your conscientiousness is infallible, my lord," Jed replied with only the barest trace of sarcasm.  
It was lost on the other man. "I grow tired of waiting. Report now."  
"Yes, my lord. Keith and the members of the other Voltron Force have   
arrived, and so far no one suspects the truth."  
"Excellent," Lotor replied with satisfaction. "Everything is proceeding   
according to plan. The hour of my triumph approaches."  
"I have more news, my lord." Jed told the prince about the unexpected new arrival.  
"Interesting," Lotor replied thoughtfully. "Do you know anything about her?"  
"She works for Galaxy Garrison, but at the evening meal she was trying to incite a rebellion against Space Marshal Aldran."  
"Interesting. A wild card, then. Watch her closely. Good work, Jedrel. Carry on, but try to keep out of sight. And--" the dark prince added slowly, "remember that I shall be watching you." The connection was broken.  
Jed concealed the tiny comm in a white-knuckled fist. Prince Lotor was a fool, an arrogant, simple-minded oaf who did not deserve the respect he demanded. He was so obsessed with revenge against a single, pitiful planet that he was blind to anything else. Sometimes Jed wondered why his superior felt it necessary to negotiate with such a brute . . . A faint smile pierced Jed's pale face. If things truly were proceeding according to plan, Lotor would get what was coming to him, very soon. .  
  
Prince Lotor slapped off the comm angrily, glaring at the small, dark stone room. This new information displeased him greatly. That Miller woman just might foil a scheme that had been years in the making. Lotor hoped that insipid Jedrel had not betrayed himself. There was so much hanging in the balance, and time was running out. Lotor sat back in his crude stone chair (imagine a prince reduced to sitting on stone furniture!) and fumed. His time would come, soon, very soon.   
  
"Hey," said Cyann, as she gently nudged Keith out of his reverie. "Wanna talk?"  
They were sitting in the rec room, the usual haunt of the Voltron Force when they had nothing better to do. Allura and Ginger were laughing and teasing the chittering space mice on one of the small couches. On the set of chairs, Lance, Pidge, Hunk, and Jeff were engaged in a spirited political discussion.   
Without waiting for a reply, Cyann plopped down next to Keith on the second small couch. "I don't know about you, but I'm still reeling from that news about Planet Doom being destroyed," she mused, looking sideways at him. "I can't think of why Aldran didn't tell us."  
"I don't like it," Keith declared. "There's something weird going on, something that we don't know about. It's unethical of Aldran to withhold information like that about our adversaries."  
"But Planet Doom isn't our adversary, Keith," Cyann reminded him. "Doom is Planet Arus' problem."  
Keith looked up sharply. "But Planet Arus is a member of the Galaxy Alliance," he argued, "and therefore any problem of Arus is a problem of ours." He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You never heard a word about Planet Doom?"  
Cyann raised her eyebrows in innocence. "Keith, do you actually think I'd keep something like that from you?"   
Keith did not reply. He looked away, but after a few seconds of silence his eyes once again focused on her. "Hey, Cyann, did that Jed guy look familiar to you?"  
"And what are you two being so secretive about?" Allura asked, suddenly appearing in front of them, hands on her hips in mock severity.  
"Nothing much," Cyann replied, shifting gears easily. "We were just talking about you behind your back."  
Allura smiled, knowing Cyann was kidding. "You two looked pretty serious. Is anything wrong?"  
Something caught Cyann's eye across the room. "As a matter of fact,   
there is. Lance is telling jokes. I'd better go rescue poor Jeff. Catch ya later."  
Allura and Keith both grinned as Cyann sauntered away. Then Allura   
asked, "Mind if I sit down?"  
"Not at all. Have a seat, Princess."  
Allura sat down beside him. "You don't have to be so formal, you know. You can call me by my name."  
He smiled. "Sorry, Princess--I mean, Allura. Old habits die hard."  
Allura started slightly, remembering that Lance had said the very same thing that morning. She studied him in the corner of her eye; there was so much to say, yet the words stuck in her throat. "So," she drawled, grasping for the first phrase that came to mind, "are you happy at Galaxy Garrison?"   
"You already asked me that," he reminded her.  
"Well, I'm asking you again. Are you happy--really happy--there?"  
He sighed. "I guess."  
Allura's eyebrows shot up. "You guess?"  
"Well, if I said I've never been happier, not only would I be lying, but I'd run the risk of hurting your feelings."   
"I see." Allura hesitated. "I missed you. We all did," she added self- consciously.  
Keith looked back at her, the beginnings of a crooked grin showing at his lips. "I missed you guys, too."  
Allura felt a rosy flush start to creep toward her face. Instinctively, she   
looked away--only to realize that she and Keith were alone in the room.  
Keith followed her gaze. "Subtle, aren't they?"   
"Y-yes." The realization of being alone with Keith temporarily threw Allura off. She tried to think of something to say.   
Keith spoke first. "So, how've you been?"  
"Good. You?"  
"Good."  
"I'm glad." Nervous silence. Allura glanced at her watch. "Oh!"  
"What?" inquired Keith.  
"It's after ten," Allura said in dismay. "Koran will be activating the nighttime alarm system. I have to help him." She got up quickly.  
Keith rose as well. "Can I help?"  
Allura smiled. "If you want to. Let's go."  
"Lead, the way--Your Majesty," he teased.  
  
Cyann closed the door to the lounge with exaggerated care, her finger poised over her lips to keep the snickering group silent. She moved away from the door and motioned for them to follow her. They tiptoed a few feet down the hall, then, judging themselves a safe distance away, erupted into laughter.  
"Think they got the hint?" Pidge asked, his brown eyes twinkling.  
"Even if they didn't," Hunk stifled another hearty chuckle, "at least we got to brush up on our stealth maneuvers."  
Another burst of laughter. "You guys have been planning this, haven't you?" Jeff said knowingly.  
"Ever since we got the news that Keith was coming back," Pidge answered.  
"How could we let them pass up an opportunity like this?" Lance added with a roguish grin.  
"I think it's sweet," said Ginger. "I love to fix people up."  
"As every ex-couple at Galaxy Garrison knows only too well," Cyann retorted wryly, smirking at Ginger's scowl.   
They rounded a corner, reaching a junction of merging hallways, and froze, their mirth forgotten. Jed stood there, gazing at them with an expression akin to distaste.  
"I have a message for Captain Miller," he said coolly, holding out an envelope bearing the official Galaxy Garrison seal.  
Instantly professional, Cyann met the servant's gaze levelly. "Thank you," she said, somewhat curtly, accepting the note.   
Jed gave a brief bow and turned on his heel, retreating into the darkness from which he had come.  
"I don't like that guy," Lance said in disgust. "There's something weird about him."  
"I agree." Jeff's brow was creased. "He almost looks like--" he broke off, shooting a quick, curious glance at Cyann, who was gazing after the servant with a similar expression. "Like he's hiding something."  
"Oh, you," Ginger shook her head. "You've just been around Galaxy Garrison too long. You see spies everywhere."  
"Are things really that bad at GG?" Lance asked seriously.  
"You have no idea," Cyann responded, shaking off her suspicion and breaking the seal. She scanned the note briefly, frowning slightly.  
"Something wrong?" Hunk wanted to know.  
Cyann stuffed the note in her pocket and shook her head. "Just Aldran checking up on me," she said lightly. "You know how those diplomats are, they think us pilots can't do anything without a flight plan."  
Lance made a face. "And you call my jokes bad!"  
Pidge laughed. "You haven't changed a bit, Cyann." Fighting a yawn, he went on, "Well, I hate to say it, folks, but I'm beat, and Hunk, Lance, and I have to be up at six for practice tomorrow morning."  
"Don't remind me," grumbled Hunk.  
Ginger raised a fair eyebrow. "Sven is holding flight practice on the day of the Conference?"  
"You forget that Keith was the one who trained him," Lance retorted. To Hunk and Pidge, he added, "You guys go ahead. Cyann and I have some catching up to do."  
"Whatever you say, Lance." Hunk winked at him. "'Night, everybody."  
"Good night." The group separated in different directions, Hunk and Pidge ambling off in the direction of their rooms, Jeff and Ginger heading in another direction, Cyann and Lance in the other.  
"Well," Lance drawled, slinging an arm around Cyann's shoulders, "you have a lot of explaining to do, Miller."  
Cyann shot him a look of confusion. "What?"  
"Two years and I haven't heard a word from you. I'm hurt."  
"Well, it's not like I got a letter from you every week, you know," Cyann shot back, defensiveness creeping into her voice. Lance raised his eyebrows at her vehemenence, and she sighed, continuing in a more serious manner. "Come on, Lance. We both know that as far as our relationship was concerned, it ended when I went back to Galaxy Garrison."  
Lance's jaw slackened at her nonchalant tone. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
"You moved on with your life, and I moved on with mine," Cyann went on casually. "We're different people now." She noticed his nonplussed expression and shrugged, unruffled. "It's no big deal."  
"No big deal, huh?" Lance responded dryly. "Thanks a lot."  
A smile softened Cyann's cool facade. Stopping in front of her room; she fumbled for her key. "I've got work to do; I'll see you later, okay?"   
She started to move away, but he restrained her. "Later?" he repeated enticingly.  
Cyann laughed heartily and gave his cheek an affectionate pat. "Take a cold shower, honey." She leaned toward him, continuing in a whisper, "And come back in ten minutes."  
  
On their way to the control room, Allura explained her haste. "Koran's eyesight isn't what it was. I'm sure you've noticed that he has to wear spectacles. I don't understand it." A lump came to her throat. "Suddenly, he seems so--old. And he's only fifty-nine."  
When they reached the control room, Allura pressed the entrance button and the doors slid apart.  
Koran was bent over the central keyboard. He turned at their   
entrance. "Ah, Princess. Hello, Keith."  
"Is there anything that I can help with?" Keith wanted to know.  
"Let me do it, Koran," Allura said, hurrying to his side. Immediately, she began to furiously type the commands that would activate the perimeter alarm and the early warning satellites that would alert the Castle in case of attack.  
"I am perfectly fine," Koran said, with a touch of self-reproach. "It's just a little dim in here, that's all."  
Allura finished setting the alarms and turned away from the keyboard.   
"There. Now, Koran," she admonished, like a mother scolding her child, "next time, I want you to wait for me. You mustn't strain your eyes."  
"My eyes are fine," Koran insisted, if half-heartedly. He was suddenly   
seized by a fit of coughing. Keith and Allura were at his side in an instant. They exchanged a concerned glance over his bowed head.  
When the spasm ended, Koran looked noticeably older and oceans more fatigued.  
"Koran, you should get to bed," Allura said, fighting to keep the lump in her throat from affecting her tone.  
They escorted him out of the control room and down the hall to his bedchamber. There, Allura tenderly kissed his cheek. "Get a good night's sleep, Koran. There's a lot of diplomacy to dish out tomorrow at the Conference."  
The minister smiled. "Good night, Allura, Keith."  
"Good night, Koran," said Keith.  
When the door closed, Allura turned and took a few steps down the hall, then stopped. Keith sensed her distress and was immediately at her side.   
"Allura, are you okay?"  
"It makes my heart ache to see him like this," she said softly, making no effort to control her shaking voice. "He caught a bad cold last year, and it just hung on him for months afterward. He kept trying to go about his business like he always had, but it just made him even more tired, and he would get sick again. I worry about him every second. I'm afraid--" her face crumpled slightly, and a tear appeared and began to slide down her pale cheek. She felt Keith's hands on her shoulders, gently turning her to face him.   
"Don't cry, Allura. Koran is a strong man. He's got decades left in him."  
"He's very proud. I'm afraid that he's not telling me everything. He hates to appear weak."  
Keith knew she was right, but he also knew better than to say it. Instead of replying, he simply squeezed her shoulders with more affection than the gesture implied. Too upset to monitor her behavior, Allura instinctively leaned forward, her tear-stained face against his broad shoulder. She waited until she felt his arms go around her, before she closed hers around him. Finally allowing herself to relax, Allura closed her eyes, remembering the last time she had sought warmth against Keith's strong shoulder.   
Unseen to Allura, Keith closed his eyes as well.  
Self-awareness seemed to hit them both at once. They pulled away at the same instant. But their gaze did not break.  
"Allura," Keith said quietly, "I want you to know something."  
"Yes?" Her heart was suddenly in her throat.  
"I want you to know that, even though I don't fly with you guys anymore, I'm still with you. If you guys ever get into trouble, I want you to contact me. Don't go through Galaxy Garrison; contact me directly, and I promise you that I'll drop whatever I'm doing and set course for Arus."  
"Keith," Allura protested, "I can't ask you to do that. You have   
responsibilities at Galaxy Garrison. We can take care of ourselves."  
Keith smiled, seeing the stubborn girl he remembered in the woman who stood before him. "Humor me, Princess. I don't like the fact that we just now heard about Planet Doom. It means that Galaxy Garrison is withholding information, and that could be dangerous. It worries me. I don't like the idea of you guys calling for help and me never knowing about it. Promise me that you'll contact me if you ever need--anything?"  
"Keith, I can't ask--"  
"You don't have to," he interrupted. "I'm offering. Please," he looked into her eyes, "promise me."  
"I will," Allura replied, almost hypnotized. "And the same goes for you. I mean that," she added, when she saw Keith start to protest. "I know we're a defense force, but we're also your friends. Friends look out for each other."  
"Allura--" he was at a loss.  
Allura sensed they were on the brink of something important. Suddenly the inhibitions that had held her prisoner for so many years dispelled. "You just told me that, if I needed you, you'd come at the drop of a hat. Well, Commander Keith," she smiled at his old nickname, "what if I were to tell you that I'd do the same for you?" The words were simple, yet heavy with feeling.  
"Allura," he repeated softly, his eyes serious as they held hers. After a brief hesitation, he reached for her hands, enclosing them in his. "There's something I have to tell you."  
"Yes?" Allura breathed, her heart pounding.  
"Two years ago," Keith began slowly, "when I left, it wasn't because I didn't--" he broke off, his eyes imploring her to understand his meaning.  
Allura expelled the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "I know."  
Later, Allura could not recall which of them moved first. All she could   
remember was Keith's face moving toward hers, herself saying a desperate   
prayer that Koran or Nanny or anyone wouldn't suddenly walk by. And then she felt the wonderful sensation of his lips against hers. Instinctively, Allura's hands moved to touch his shoulders, resting yet holding on for dear life. She felt Keith's arms close around her waist, and she reached up to lock her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, hardly aware of what she was doing, and not really caring. For a brief eternity, she and Keith were the only two people on the planet.  
When, inevitably, the kiss ended, their arms remained entwined. Allura looked up at him and asked, "Please say it. Do you love me, Keith?"  
A moment passed before he replied. "Yes," Keith whispered, his voice husky with emotion, "I always have, with all my heart."  
"Good," she whispered back, her voice thick. "Because you've always had mine."  
Keith gazed at her in wonder, the significance of her words rendering him speechless. Gently, his hand lifted to touch her cheek, caressing it like a delicate work of art, his eyes holding hers with an intensity that forbade breathing. Suddenly he smiled. "I've wanted to do this for a long time, Princess," and he lowered his lips to touch hers again in a kiss that made Allura weak in the knees. She relished every moment, feeling hot tears seeping from her closed eyes--only now they were tears of happiness.  
  
Prince Lotor stared in dumbstruck amazement. On the small viewscreen, connected via radio to the small camera installed in one of the many corridors in the Castle of Lions, he saw Princess Allura lift her face to meet Keith's in a long kiss that made Lotor's blood boil into murderous rage. The embrace seemed to go on forever, until Lotor truly believed that he would go mad if he were forced to watch another second. Mechanically, he raised his fist and brought it down on the table with such force that a spider web of cracks were left in the hard stone. Oblivious to the throbbing pain in his right hand, Lotor brought his other hand back and swung at the viewscreen, smashing it and sending it crashing to the floor. "Kavor!" he yelled, his voicing reberverating off   
the rock.  
A built Doomnian appeared in the doorway, visibly shaking at the sight of his master's contorted face and bleeding hands. "Y-yes, sir?"  
"Is my army ready?" Lotor growled.  
"Not quite, s-sir," Kavor wavered. "We have only one-fourth of battalion assembled."  
"Summon them."  
"But sir--"  
"I said summon them!" the dark prince roared. "Immediately! Full   
arsenal."  
"Yes sir!" Kavor fumbled. "What course shall I have them set for?"  
Lotor bared his teeth as his yellow eyes glared daggers through the dirty stone walls of his makeshift castle. "Arus," he spat.  
  
"I don't believe this," Ginger declared, exasperated. "This is beyond paranoid."  
"I'm telling you, Ginger, there's something funny going on," Jeff insisted. "Why would Aldran wait until the last minute to send Cyann unless something was up? And why her? Why not someone else from the Voltron Force?"  
"What's this all about, Jeff?" Ginger asked curiously. "Why are you suddenly so suspicious of Cyann?"   
Jeff looked away. "I just think that she knows a lot more than she's letting on. What was all that jazz at dinner about working in navigation? I haven't see her there since her leg was fixed. But haven't you noticed that she has a way of appearing almost everywhere else, including here? The phrase 'finger in every pie' comes to mind. Cyann Miller is up to something."  
"And just what makes you such an expert on Cyann Miller?" Ginger challenged. "You don't even like her. You never have. Is that what this is about? Are you so wrapped up in your dislike that--"  
Jeff looked away impatiently. "Come on, Ginger," he interrupted, "you know as well as I do that there's a storm brewing at Galaxy Garrison. And we also know that Cyann and Aldran are pretty tight. So all I'm saying is, it wouldn't be unheard of if he pulled a few strings for her now and then."  
Ginger crossed her arms over her chest with unconcealed skepticism. "Are you suggesting that the only reason Cyann is here is because she's good friends with Aldran?"   
"Can you think of a better reason for her to attend the Voltron Conference, even though she's not a pilot?"  
"Yes I can. Cyann knows a lot about Voltron. She was one of the original applicants for the Force, and she probably would have made the team if it wasn't for her bad leg. And then she served as Allura's alternate--"  
"For one month," Jeff interrupted again.  
"So what? She's also good friends with all of us. Maybe Aldran thought she'd made a good mediator or something." Ginger saw Jeff frown. "What's that look for?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes.   
"Why would Aldran wait until the last minute to send someone who has nothing to do with Voltron to Planet Arus?" Jeff questioned, then shook his head. "Something's going on that we don't know about."  
Ginger shook her head. "I still say you're paranoid." After a beat, she frowned slightly. "One thing, though: if Cyann's such a good friend to the Space Marshal, then why did she say those things at dinner? For someone who's so 'friendly' with Aldran, as you put it, she didn't sound like she thought much of him."  
Jeff looked pensive. "That's another thing that doesn't add up, Ginger."  
  
"Lance!" Cyann protested, laughing. "Will you knock it off? I'm trying to read here!"  
"Not until you surrender," he replied, tickling her again. She slapped his hand and moved to the other side of the bed, trying again to concentrate on the brief she was reading.  
"What's so interesting?" Lance asked, trying unsuccessfully to snatch the brief away from her.  
Cyann moved it out of his reach and turned away. "Cut it out, Lance. This is important."  
"Some little piece of paper is more important than me?"  
"Is that so hard to believe?"  
He rolled his eyes. "Can I help it if I missed you?"  
Cyann set the brief down. "Unbelievable," she said to herself.  
"Did you miss me?" Lance persisted, playing with a strand of her red- gold hair.  
"I am not at liberty to say."  
He smirked at her. "Spoken like a true officer. What's with you tonight? You seem distracted."  
"It's nothing." She looked at her watch. "Yikes, it's almost one."  
"You should get to bed," Lance said, grinning wickedly.  
"Probably."  
"Want some help?"  
Cyann slapped him hard on the shoulder. "You never give up, do you?"  
"Not until I get what I want." He took her hand in his.  
"You are the most arrogant, self-absorbed little--" she was fighting a smile.  
"I love it when you talk dirty." Lance moved closer, gently caressing both her hands now.  
Cyann gazed with longing into his warm familiar brown eyes, and then freed a hand and put it on his chest to stop him. "We have to talk."  
"We can talk later," Lance replied absently, letting go of her hand and   
moving up her arm. "I've got something better in mind."  
"Laaaance." Exasperation lengthened the syllable. "Could you please put your hormones on hold for a second? We have to talk," she repeated.  
Lance moved away, trying to conceal his childish pout. "Is that why you invited me in? Just to talk?"  
Cyann raised her eyebrows. "Sorry to ruin your night, but yes, as a matter of fact, it is. Like you said, we have a lot of catching up to do."  
Lance leaned back on his hands. "Such as?"  
"It's been two years since we last saw each otherr, Lance. That's a long time. I want to know what you've been up to."  
He shrugged. "Same old thing, protecting Arus from the scum of the galaxy."  
"Anything else?"  
He arched an eyebrow. "Is this an inquisition, Captain?"  
"More of an interrogation, Lieutenant."  
"That's Lieutenant Commander to you," Lance shot back. "No, that's pretty much it. What about you?"  
"Me? Oh, the usual: intrigue, danger, same old thing."  
Lance chuckled. "Well you haven't changed a bit. You're still full of it." He tried to kiss her.  
Cyann shifted to avoid him. "Wait a minute, Lance. Things are different now."  
Lance sighed in exasperation. "How are they different? I like you, you like me, we're great in bed--what else is there?"  
She regarded him as if he were a three-year-old. "That's not what I mean! There are certain things we have to discuss."  
"All right, all right," he amended, catching her meaning. "Do you have a deadly disease? Illegitimate children? Owe some money--what?!" he exclaimed when she smacked him hard on the shoulder.  
Cyann was clearly annoyed. "Why can't you take this seriously?"  
"Why does it have to be so serious?" Lance rebounded. Then his expression solidified. "Is there something wrong?"  
"Yes. There's something specific you're not telling me."  
"And what would that be?"  
"About you and Allura."  
There was a long silence. Lance's expression faded from one of impatience to one of amazement--and guilt. "Who told you?"  
Cyann's gaze was shrewd. "You just did, Lance-honey."  
He simply stared.  
Cyann felt herself suddenly uncomfortable under his shocked gaze. "I picked up on some weird vibes, okay? And with Keith gone, the coast was clear--"  
"Shut up," Lance spat before she could finish. His face had gone cold. "You have no idea what you're talking about, so save your breath. Keith is my friend, and so is Allura. You can't possibly understand--never mind, I can't discuss it with you."  
"Apparently not," she retorted frostily. "What do I care, anyway?" She turned her gaze away from him.  
Lance glared at her and raked a frustrated hand through his tousled hair. He sat up, ardence forgotten, and crossed his arms defensively over his chest. "So, what do you want me to say?"  
Cyann continued to look away, focusing on the wall opposite the bed. "There's nothing to say," she remarked stiffly. "Who could blame you?"  
There was a subtle chime in the statement that sounded a klaxon to Lance's astute senses. He stared at her in sudden comprehension. "You're jealous."  
She flinched and looked him hard in the eye. "I most certainly am not." Pause. "You could have told me."  
"And I could have sold my soul to the devil, too, but I chose otherwise."  
"I wouldn't have been angry. I know you well enough."  
Lance's brows drew together. "Now what the hell is that supposed to mean, Cyann? That I'm weak?"  
Cyann's cool blue eyes met his evenly. "You said it, I didn't."  
Furious, Lance rose to his feet, crossing to the other side of the room and facing her challengingly. "Damn it, Cyann! You always do this! You insult me while holding that damn halo over your own head! Well, I know you well enough too, and you're no god-damn angel! "I'm sure there are plenty of things you haven't told me about!"  
"Oh yeah, like what?" she challenged.  
"Like why you lied about working in navigation."  
A retort sprang to her lips, then died as his words hit home. Her blue eyes widened in shock. "What--?" she stammered, caught off guard.   
The fire had faded from his eyes, replaced by a perceptive gleam. "I can tell when someone's lying, Cyann," he said quietly. "I can always tell."  
Cyann stared at him, speechless.  
Lance took a step closer, his eyes never leaving hers. "Look, I'm not going to ask you why you lied, Cyann. It's none of my business what you've done since you left, unless you choose to tell me. I'm willing to accept that, because I trust you. But you have to trust me, and that means you have to accept that there are things I don't have to tell you unless I choose to."  
Still she stared at him, unable to speak. Then she nodded weakly. "Fair enough. Truce?"  
"Truce," he agreed. "Now if I remember correctly," the devilish spark was back in his eyes, "we were just about to be in the middle of something."  
Cyann shook her head in wonder at his transformation from mature man into mischievous boy in a matter of seconds. She pulled him eagerly into her arms.  
A second later, every alarm in the Castle began to chime. Startled, Cyann and Lance jumped apart. "What the hell--" Cyann began.  
"Come on," said Lance, suddenly all business. "We've got to get to the control room!"  
  
Koran was already there, furiously bringing the systems back online.   
Lance dashed into the control room, Cyann hot on his heels. "What's going on, Koran?"  
"A fleet, a large one, just came out of hyperspace and is approaching fast.," Koran answered. "It almost looks like--it can't be . . ."  
Sven, Hunk and Pidge were next to arrive. "What happened?" they   
chorused.  
"In a moment we'll have a visual," said Koran. An image appeared on the large screen, and everyone gasped.  
"No way!" breathed Hunk.  
Lance stared. "That's impossible!"  
Allura and Keith came running. "What is it?" Keith asked, slightly out of breath.  
Allura let out a gasp as she recognized the fleet. "Planet Doom? How can it be?"  
"I thought all life on Planet Doom was destroyed," said Keith, looking at the others for confirmation.  
"So did we," Lance replied. "This is not good."  
"Where are they headed, Koran?" Sven demanded grimly.  
Koran pressed a button, and his face became gray. "They are heading for the village," he said dully. "And they're firing."  
  
Jed was awakened by a loud noise. He hurriedly rose and ran to the window. He saw fire, coming almost certainly from the small village that was located just down the hill from the castle. There were huge black ships hovering over it, familiar ships...   
He dressed quickly and went out into the hallway, examining the walls and finding another tiny comlink in a corner of the wall. He turned it on. "Lotor! Prince Lotor!"   
"Ah, Jedrel, my friend," the prince's voice came back silkily. "So lovely to hear from you."  
"What is going on?" Jed shouted. "This was not part of the plan!"  
"I am altering the plan," Lotor replied coolly. "Have you got a problem with that?"  
Jed clenched his teeth. "Of course not, my lord. I just wish that you could have informed me. I might have been able to help."  
Lotor gave a harsh laugh. "I don't need you. The deal's off, Jedrel!"  
"You can't do this!" Jed rasped, "I won't--ah!"  
Jed was suddenly grabbed from behind, his arms wrenched behind his   
back. Stunned, he dropped the comlink.  
"Don't move," came voice behind him. "Just who exactly--"  
Jed struggled violently, trying to kick his attacker and landing a hit in the other man's stomach. The man behind him stumbled slightly, and then Jed felt a dull blow at the back of his head. Everything went black.  
"Jeff!" Ginger cried in alarm.  
"I'm all right, " he replied. "Help me lift him. We've got to get this spy to the control room and find out what he's doing here."  
"Wait!" Ginger's eye caught on something. She bent to pick it up. "This just might explain things," she said, holding up the tiny comlink.  
  
Allura's hands flew to her lips, holding back a cry of anguish. "Firing?" she repeated, horrified. The memory of Keith's lips was achingly fresh. That something so horrible could follow something so beautiful was utterly unthinkable, uncomprehensible...  
Cyann had the foresight to yell, "Somebody catch her!"  
Keith was at Allura's side at once, supporting her sagging form in his   
strong arms. When Allura felt his arms around her, she seemed to snap out her trance. Her eyes watered, and she pulled herself straight.  
"I'm fine, I just...it was a shock." Her voice was a whisper, as if she feared to raise it.  
"Is she all right?'' Koran asked in alarm.  
"She's all right," Keith replied, gently lifting Allura's chin so he could look in her eyes. He smiled faintly. "She's a trooper."   
Allura felt warmed immediately. She realized that he was remembering their embrace as well, and took solace in the memory as she did.  
Watching Keith and Allura, Sven allowed himself a grin of his own. Even if things went to hell from this point on, at least they had managed to find a little happiness together. Heaven knew they both needed it. he mused, feeling a pang for his wife, Romelle.  
Just then, things began to go to hell. The control room doors slid open, revealing Jeff and Ginger, hauling a motionless Jed.  
Cyann turned and gasped. "What the hell happened?"  
"We caught him sending a message to Prince Lotor on this," Ginger   
explained, holding up the small piece of machinery.  
"Lotor!" Lance exclaimed. "That son of a bitch is still alive?"  
"Let me see that," said Cyann, stepping forward to examine the comlink, stealing a brief, stunned glance at the unconscious man. "I've seen these before: a Nanotransmitter. They use nanochips, billions of them. These babies can transmit over thousands of parsecs, and they're so small, they're nearly untraceable."  
"Which means they could be everywhere," Keith finished darkly.   
Koran pressed an intercom. "Search the Castle for surveillance   
equipment! Use a particle scanner. Disable anything as soon as you find it!"  
Allura suddenly remembered the village. "Those poor people...we've got to get to the lions!" she cried. "I'm fine!" she insisted when they gave her questioning looks. "Let's go, we're losing time!"  
"Wait a minute!" said Koran. "I'm picking up something--it's Lotor's personal ship! He's heading around the castle, toward the observation deck!"  
"Where we first met him," Keith supplied grimly, remembering. "Jeff and Ginger, make sure Jed is secure, and see if you can get a statement out of him when he wakes up. Cyann, see if you can help the guards disable those nanotransmitters."  
"Right," all three said in unison.  
"Let's go!" called Sven.  
  
The sky was just lightening behind Lotor's ugly black ship, which gave the appearance of a mammoth black bird hovering before the large window from which the observation lounge took its name. In the small, raised cockpit at the apex of the ship, the familiar outline of the prince's horned helmet was discernable, but despite the light surrounding the ship, Lotor's face was hung with shadows, draping like black cobwebs, obscuring his features, so that his yellow eyes stood out alone, gleaming like a cat's and seeming to penetrate the thick glass with their glittering anger. Altogether, it was a disturbing sight.  
Keith wasted no words. "What do you want?"  
Lotor's lips curled. "I want a hostage: you or Princess Allura, or I shall lay waste to your village. You have one hour."  
Keith took a step forward. "We don't need an hour. Stop your attack and take me."  
"No!" cried Allura. "Keith, he'll kill you!"  
"Don't worry about me," he said quietly, his eyes never leaving Lotor's.  
She touched his arm. "How can I not?" They gazed at each other for a long moment. Pidge, looking discreetly away from the couple, had the misfortune to glance at Prince Lotor, and saw the prince's shadowed face contort with jealousy. He shuddered.  
"One hour!" Lotor shouted, and his black ship moved away. Everyone flocked around Keith.  
"You're much too valuable, Keith," Allura explained, fear shining in her   
cerulean eyes. "We need you, Galaxy Garrison needs you. Let me go and you guys can follow me."  
"Absolutely not," Keith answered immediately. "I will not hand you over to that monster."  
"Wait!" Lance suddenly cried. "I have an idea." He motioned everyone closer. "I hate to say this--I really hate to say this, but the Princess has a point."  
"What?!" Keith, Sven, Hunk, and Pidge exclaimed.  
"It's like this," Lance began. "Lotor's got to know we'd never willingly hand over the Princess. Therefore, he's probably expecting Keith to go as hostage. He's out for your blood, Keith, not Allura's and not Arus's. They're just means to an end--and I think we can guess what that end is."  
"So what do we do?" said Hunk. "We can't let Keith go knowing that."  
"It's simple," Lance said. "We've got to try to catch Lotor off guard."  
"By giving him the Princess?" Keith finished, understanding. "That's crazy."  
Lance looked Keith in the eye. "Crazy enough to work. I don't like this idea any more than you do, but we can't risk giving him what he wants until we find out what he's up to."  
"It's a risk either way," Sven said thoughtfully. "But I agree that it may be best not to give Lotor what he wants right away. On the other hand, Allura may be walking into the lion's mouth."  
"Thanks, Sven, that's a great way to put it," Lance said, disgusted but concerned as he took in the Princess's still form. "Are you up to this?"  
Her heart pounding in her chest, Allura nodded with all the confidence she could muster. "Of course."  
Everyone looked at Keith, knowing how difficult this was for him. The   
captain's eyes were lowered, his mind obviously working furiously.   
"The second--the millisecond--that Lotor's ship leaves the danger zone, we'll follow him," Lance declared fervently. "We'll get you back, Princess."  
"I know you will," Allura said, her eyes on Keith.  
"Final decision is yours, Keith." Hunk spoke quietly, knowing that Keith had every reason to oppose this plan.  
"It may be the only way," said Sven, understanding and aching for his friend's pain. "We have to trust Allura."  
Suddenly Keith looked up, his jaw set and his face a mask. "All right."  
Allura felt tears prick her eyes. Moved by his turmoil, she tried to catch his eye, but his gaze refused to meet hers. Finally she gave up and looked away. "I'd better get ready." With one, last, searching look at Keith, she left the room.  
As soon as she was gone, Keith's mask fell. He let out a shaky breath, crossing his arms and pressing a fist to his lips, his eyes closed tightly as if in pain.   
Everyone looked at him sympathetically. They didn't feel all that great   
themselves, but they knew it had to be nothing compared to what Keith was going through.  
Lance's jaw was set in a hard line. Gripping Keith's shoulder firmly, he   
repeated, "We'll get her back."  
Keith managed a wry grin. "I know. Because you're dead meat if we don't."  
Lance saluted respectfully. "Yes, sir."  
  
The Voltron Force and Keith returned to the control room, ghost-white, and without the Princess. Koran looked up sharply. "Where is Allura?"  
Sven quietly explained their plan. Koran went deathly pale. "Have you all lost your minds?" he cried.   
"It's the only way," Pidge said, his voice breaking a little.  
"For heaven's sake," Koran continued in exasperation, "if Lotor wants   
Keith, then why doesn't he go?" He looked at Keith accusingly. "You're a trained solider. Why must you risk the Princess's life to call Lotor's bluff?"  
Keith had his arms folded protectively over his chest. It was obvious the remark stung. He neither met Koran's eye nor replied.  
Lance stepped forward. "This was my idea. Keith wanted to go, but we wouldn't let him." He rattled off the advantages of the plan, adding, "Allura's tougher than she looks; she can take this."  
Koran rung his hands. "I just don't see why--"  
"Koran," Cyann interrupted sedately, having entered unannounced while Lance was talking, "one way or the other, Allura is in danger. Either she goes with Lotor now and we trust her to take care of herself, or Lotor kills Keith and goes after her anyway. It's a stalemate."  
Koran visibly sagged. "Oh, the poor girl," he mused despairingly, "surrounded on all sides. If King Alfor were alive, he would be greatly displeased."  
"Nonsense," Keith said suddenly and distinctly, his dark eyes glittering. "He would be proud. You've brought Allura up as a capable, determined woman, and that's the highest honor you can pay to the memory of her father."  
"Keith is right," said Sven. "We must all believe in Allura's ability--   
because if we don't, then she won't."  
"I suppose you are right," Koran admitted in a defeated tone.   
  
As she dressed, Allura tried not to think of the danger of what she was   
doing. Although she would never have admitted it, she was frightened--and, by the look in his eyes, she knew that Keith was, too. In all her years of knowing Keith, Allura had never seen him nervous. One of the first things she'd admired about him had been his ability to remain cool and collected under pressure, no matter the stakes. Today, his brow had been shining with sweat, and there had been an unmistakable edge to his voice. That frightened Allura even more.  
Even though she knew that the first thing Lotor would do was remove any weapons she had, Allura still tucked a tiny blaster in the waist of her pants, and concealed a small knife in her boot. She was careful to limber up, in case it became necessary to defend herself--and she was certain it would--comforting herself in the knowledge that her judo skills had greatly improved since the last time she'd had to fight off Lotor's advances. Fifteen minutes left.  
It was time. Allura gazed at her white face in the mirror, silently prayed to her father for strength, and left the room.   
She met the rest of the team outside the Castle. When she saw Koran, her eyes filled with tears. He looked so worried. She embraced the older man, whispering, "I will return."  
Then only Keith remained. He looked at her, his eyes blacker and more intense than she had ever observed them. Knowing the source of his   
consternation, Allura said, "Don't worry; I'll be fine. I know what I'm doing."  
Keith sighed. "I hate the thought of abandoning you to that evil man."  
"You're not abandoning me," she argued. "I'm doing this of my own free will. I'm doing this for myself, for Arus, and--for you." She took his hand. "You've always risked your life for me as if it didn't matter to you at all--and maybe it doesn't. But your life matters to me, Keith. You may not care whether or not Lotor kills you, but I do. I can't imagine my life without you. These past two years . . . " Allura trailed off and sighed. "You've risked your life for me so many times. Please let me return the favor."  
With a harsh sigh, Keith took her into his arms, holding her as if he'd never let go. "I will come for you," she heard him whisper fiercely. "Know that."  
"I know," Allura whispered back.   
The air filled with an unmistakable roar. Allura and Keith looked up to see the black insectlike form of Prince Lotor's black ship slowly descending. Thirty feet away, it landed, and slowly lowered its gangplank.  
Keith suddenly looked into her eyes. "Let me go," he implored. "Please don't do this."  
"I have to do this, Keith," Allura answered firmly, biting back her fear.   
They could hear the sound of boots striding down the metal platform, and a moment later Lotor emerged from the darkness of his flagship. The Doom prince was still dressed in his usual black and purple uniform, but as he approached, they could see that the material showed visible wear and tear, as did his famous horned helmet. As Lotor's face became visible, both Allura and Keith were unable to suppress a gasp of revulsion. Half of the proud prince's face was a mottled pink, crossed with dark streaks like-- scars. Allura thought numbly, unable to tear her eyes away from the horrible sight. As Lotor moved closer, she could see that one of his yellow eyes was slightly off-center, distorted by the ravaged skin that surrounded it. Allura felt her stomach drop to her ankles, and, almost without realizing it, she reached out to touch Keith's arm for reassurance.  
The dark prince glared at both of them. "Well, which of you is it?"  
"I will go," Allura began bravely, trying not to look at the deformity, "but before I take one step toward your ship, I want you to send your fleet outside Arus's atmosphere. Now." She gave him a hard stare.   
Lotor was clearly surprised. He looked at Keith. Both men stared each other in the face for a long moment.  
"You heard me," Allura continued severely, all too aware of the heavy tension in the air. "Do it now."  
Slowly, Lotor reached for his comlink. "Kavor, take the fleet back into space." There was a brief pause and some angry scratching from the small transmitter. "Now!" Lotor shouted. "That is an order!" He looked at Allura as he tucked the instrument away. "Recall, my dear, that I can resume the attack as easily as I can stop it."  
Allura's brow furrowed. "I am a woman of my word." A lump of fear in her throat, Allura started forward, calmly ascending the gangplank into the vast blackness of the ship. Keith continued to stand frozen, his brow creased in a scowl and his hands clenched tightly into fists.  
Lotor smiled at Keith's torment and gave a mocking bow. "It appears the best man has won."  
"This isn't over, Lotor," said Keith with cold anger.  
Lotor's grin only widened. He turned his back on Keith and followed   
Allura.  
Keith's eyes remained fixed on the ship as it lifted off. Long after the   
vessel was gone, he repeated, "This isn't over."  
  
In another part of the Castle, Jeff and Ginger were waiting for their   
prisoner to awaken. His ankles and wrists bound, Jed was perched in a chair, his head to one side and his eyes closed. Jeff was sipping coffee, and Ginger was fiddling with the nanotransmitter she had found with Jed. Both of them were thinking of the startling turn of events that had come to pass in the last hour.  
Ginger broke the silence. "I think Allura's really brave. I'd be terrified out of my wits."  
Jeff nodded. "The one I feel bad for is Keith. That had to be the hardest thing he's ever done. Did you see his face when he came back in?"  
Ginger nodded sadly. "He must love her very much." She succeeded in opening the transmitter. "Wow," she breathed. "Cyann was right; there must be millions and millions of nanochips in here." She upturned the small machine and shook it slightly, causing some of the finest dust she'd ever seen to gently escape. "Each of those dust particles is a chip. It's amazing."  
"It scares me to think that Doom has gotten ahold of things like that," Jeff said ominously. "Imagine what else they may have stumbled upon."  
"No kidding. Gosh, I never thought things could go so wrong so quickly. You'd almost think--hey, look!"  
Ginger motioned eagerly to their prisoner. Jed's eyelids were fluttering, he took a few deep, slow breaths.   
Jeff set down his coffee cup and pulled his chair next to Jed's. Ginger   
followed suit.  
Jed's head moved from side to side. Suddenly, his eyes snapped fully   
open. He quickly took stock of his surroundings, shooting nasty looks to his   
captors.   
Jeff tensed imperceptively, expecting Jed to attempt escape. But the   
prisoner made no movement. Jed's manacled hands and feet twitched, but he made no attempt to struggle out of his bonds.  
"There's no escape," Jeff confirmed. "So you might as well spill it. Who are you?"  
Jed fixed them with a steely stare. "My name is Jedrel."  
"Where did you come from?"  
Jed scowled. "What the hell do you care?"  
"Watch it," warned Jeff. "Are you working for Planet Doom?"  
Jed widened his eyes in overdone innocence. "How is that possible? The planet was destroyed."  
"But its prince still lives," said Ginger, as if they could have forgotten. "Are you working for him?"  
"I should think that would be obvious," Jed replied contemptuously. "Is this going anywhere? I have better ways of wasting my time."  
"You're not going anywhere until you tell us what you where doing here, besides spying for Prince Lotor," snapped Jeff. "You might as well comply. I'm a patient man."  
"As am I." Jed was maddeningly calm.  
"The sooner you tell us your mission," Ginger put in, "the sooner you will be released."  
Jeff shifted in his seat. "Let's try this again. What are you doing here?"  
"We have already established that I was spying. Really, I would think a man of your rank would have a much sharper brain."  
Jeff dismissed the uneasy thought. There were more important things to think about now. "Why were you spying?"  
Jed shrugged. "Lotor needed somebody to infiltrate the Castle, and he was willing to pay handsomely."  
"But why?"  
Jed refused to answer the question. Jeff regarded him for a moment, then indicated that it was Ginger's turn to interrogate.  
"So you were just here to observe?" she confirmed.   
"Yes."  
"Why did you agree to do this?"  
Jed's answer sent a chill up their spines. "Why not?"  
Ginger and Jeff exchanged a look. "Look," Ginger began, "if Planet Doom was destroyed, then where is Lotor operating from?"  
"On one of the moons of Planet Doom." Jed apparently had no qualms divulging his employer's secrets.  
"On a moon?" Ginger repeated.  
"Some moons can be very large," Jeff answered, "sometimes large enough to form a breathable atmosphere." He looked at Jed. "Is that how it is?"  
"More or less," Jed replied nonchalantly.   
Jeff leaned forward. "What about Castle Doom? Did King   
Zarkon survive?"  
"Most don't think so," answered Jed, as if he couldn't care less.   
"What about Cossak?"  
A shrug.  
"How much of an army does Lotor have?"  
"I wouldn't know."  
"Don't play games with me."  
"I told you I don't know." Jed raised his voice ever so slightly, indicating his annoyance. "That was none of my concern." His lip curled into a smirk. "I do know that he has the remains of a fleet."  
"No kidding," Ginger said dryly.   
"Okay, let me see if I've got everything straight," Jeff recounted. "Lotor is alive and well on one of Planet Doom's moons, and he offered you a sum of money to infiltrate the Castle and spy for him."  
"You have a dizzying intellect, captain."  
Jeff wondered, something clicking in his brain. "Then what's with this sudden attack? Was this part of the plan?"  
That hit a nerve. Jed's ice-blue eyes grew even colder. "No, it wasn't part of the plan."  
"What was the plan?"  
"You truly are dense," Jed sneered. "Do you honestly think that Lotor didn't know about the Conference?"   
"He knew? How?" Ginger asked, then started as Jeff touched her arm and made a discreet head motion. Ginger understood and tried another question.   
"What was in it for you?"  
"The usual: money, fame, power."  
"That's it?"  
"What else is there?"   
Ginger saw Jeff's jaw tighten indignantly. "You said that this sudden attack was not part of the plan. Why did it happen?"  
"I honestly don't know," Jed replied. "I was as surprised as you were."  
"Are you telling the truth?" Ginger asked skeptically.  
Jed shrugged indifferently. "You be the judge. I don't care what you   
think."  
"Do you have any idea what set Lotor off?" Jeff asked.  
Jed shrugged again. "Lotor does not discuss his plans with me. I daresay it was an impulse."  
"Well, that was one hell of an impulse," Jeff barked with unconcealed   
cynicism. "Is Lotor really that unstable?"  
"He'll do anything to get what he wants."  
Jeff's personal communit crackled to life, startling everyone. "Jeff," came Keith's voice. "We're taking off in fifteen minutes."  
"Copy that. Good luck." Jeff looked pensive as he switched off the   
comm.  
"What is it?" inquired Ginger softly.  
"I've just got a funny feeling, that's all. If Lance is right . . ."  
"Keith could be in danger," Ginger finished, frightened.   
"Your friend is right."   
Jeff and Ginger turned sharply to Jed, surprised by this outburst. "Explain yourself," Jeff ordered brusquely.  
"Your friend Keith is in danger."  
"How do you know?" Ginger's voice was taut with fear.  
Jed's rolled his eyes in contempt. "Isn't it obvious?"  
"Not to me," Jeff said sharply.  
"You're both idiots. Keith's got what Lotor wants!"  
"Princess Allura!" Ginger exclaimed. "All of this is about her?"  
"Well," Jed replied snidely, "the fact that Lotor's got his ass kicked by Keith more than once figures into the equation. Whatever the reason, Prince Lotor wants Keith dead." Jed seemed to enjoy his captors' shock.  
Jeff jumped up. "I can't let him go! I've got to stop them from going!" He flicked on his comm again. "Koran, has the Voltron Force left yet?"  
"No," Koran's voice came back. "Why?"  
"Don't let them leave!" Jeff commanded. "Send a few guards to escort Jed to a cell. He's still got a lot of explaining to do." Turning the comm off again, he faced Ginger. "Don't let him get away. I'll see you later!" He hurried out of the room.  
  
The Voltron Force was grim as they watched the computer screens, ticking away the minutes remaining before they could rescue their princess.  
"Four taryns," Cyann reported dully, her brow creased. "Three more. Another few minutes, guys."  
"These are going to be the longest minutes in history," Pidge whispered to Hunk.  
Everyone jumped when Jeff burst in, out of breath and speaking in short bursts. "You can't go!"  
"Jeff, what's wrong?" Cyann asked.  
Jeff took two more deep gulps of air. "Lotor, he's after--he wants you   
dead, Keith!"  
A hiss of indrawn breath. Keith remained still as a statue, apparently unconcerned with this news. "I know that," he said, deadly calm. "But I have to go."  
"You can't!" cried Jeff, stepping forward to plead with his frozen friend. "I talked to Jed. Lotor's obsessed with revenge against you, because of Princess Allura. He's insane! That attack on the village was an impulse! An impulse, Keith! He killed those people for no reason other than his own mad jealousy."  
Keith did not reply. "How much longer, Cyann?"  
"Less than a minute," she replied absently, as stunned as the rest of them.  
Frustrated, Jeff tried another tactic. "Keith, as your commanding officer, I have to order you to remain at the Castle of Lions!"  
Startled, Keith turned to stare at him. Almost immediately he looked away, his jaw tightening. "Don't do this, Jeff."  
"I have to," the other man replied stubbornly. "I can't allow you to endanger yourself."  
"And I can't allow Allura to remain prisoner on that monster's ship!"  
"But it could be a trap!"  
"That's a chance I'll have to take. I can't--I won't let him touch her!"  
His eyes widening, Jeff stared at Keith as if he'd never seen him before. "It's not just Lotor, is it? This damned rivalry. It's both of you."  
"Time!" announced Cyann. "They've left the atmosphere."  
"Let's go," said Keith firmly, turning away from Jeff. "Sven, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and Cyann, come with me."  
Startled, Cyann turned away from the control panel. "Why me?"  
"We'll need someone to fly the blue lion," Keith called, halfway to the door.  
"Captain," Jeff threatened, his forehead creased and glistening with sweat and desperation, "if you leave this room I will relieve you of your command--"  
"To hell with my command!" Keith flared, spinning around. "Take it! It   
doesn't mean anything to me--her safety is more important than any stupid command! Go ahead and court-martial me, I don't care. But know that nothing in this universe can prevent me from going to her now, not even you."  
In the charged silence, no one could move as Keith and Jeff stared eye to eye. Then Keith turned away for the last time. "Let's go," he repeated stiffly.  
Jeff stood numb and still, watching Keith and the rest of the Voltron Force exit the control room, and realized that he was struggling against the tide. The cards had been dealt. There was nothing left to do but play.  
  
"Keith," Cyann protested, jogging to keep up with his brisk pace, "why do you need me? Aren't you going to fly the black lion?"  
"No. I'll take my Alpha-F."  
"Your--why? You want to get to Lotor's ship as quickly as possible, don't you? The lions are faster."  
"It's no longer my place," Keith replied, without looking at her. "That's   
Sven's job now."  
"I don't mind," said Sven. "Take it. I can fly the blue lion."  
"No," Keith shook his head. "You guys are a team; I don't want to upset that."  
"Oh, give me a break," Lance chimed in. "We were a team when you led us too, Keith."  
"Take the black lion, Keith," Cyann urged. "Then you guys'll be a team again. I can stay here and hold down the fort."  
"Come on, Keith!" Hunk pleaded. "It'll be like old times!"  
"I should ask Space Marshal Aldran for permission," Keith said uneasily.  
"Screw Aldran," Cyann replied bitterly. "You know he couldn't care less about this force."  
"We know nothing," Sven promised, when Keith still did not look   
convinced. "And, besides, Keith, if there's one thing I've learned in combat, it's that sometimes you can't do everything by the book."  
"Amen," added Lance.  
Keith's hard expression had softened somewhat. He stopped momentarily to look at his friends, uncertainty in his eyes.  
"Come on, Keith," Lance cajoled knowingly. "You know you want to."  
Keith looked at Sven. "Are you sure you don't mind?"  
Sven couldn't help a faint smile. "I promise. Will you take charge--again?"  
The question hung in the air. Then Keith finally said, "All right."  
"Yes!" shouted Pidge.   
"But remember," Keith added warningly, "if word of this gets out--"  
"Word of what?" Cyann interrupted, spreading her hands in innocence.  
Keith displayed the ghost of a smile. "Okay, let's go," he murmured.  
"Aw, come on, Keith," complained Hunk. "Do it right."  
The ghost smile widened, but it never reached Keith's eyes. "To the   
lions!" he amended.  
  
It felt like a dream, to go through motions he hadn't performed in two  
years. When he arrived in the black lion, Keith took a moment to run his fingers over the controls, awed by the warm familiarity he felt--like coming home.   
But Keith's reverie lasted only a moment. His attention immediately   
focused on the task at hand--and a hard one at that. The Voltron Force had   
rescued Allura from peril many a time, but this time was different--Keith could feel it. This time it was more than a battle; it was a showdown. This time, Lotor meant business. This time there wouldn't be a stalemate.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	3. Revelation

Disclaimer: Voltron and its characters are the property of World Events  
Productions. All rights reserved. I don't own these characters and I am not  
receiving any profit for writing this story. Cyann Miller, Jedrel Jhaksinn, and  
the infamous Aldran are mine.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This segment was originally part of chapter 2: "The  
Tempest," but for reasons of length (once I got going I couldn't stop!), I have  
decided to make it its own chapter, entitled "Revelation," the reasons for  
which you will shortly find out! And as always, say 'em with me: "speech",  
, ~flashbacks~  
  
  
SMALL ETERNITIES  
by Cyanne/Saturn Girl  
  
PART 3: REVELATION  
  
  
Although this was only the first time she'd been aboard Prince Lotor's  
command ship, Allura was still shocked by the deterioration she saw. For  
an egomaniac like Lotor, Allura had supposed that the ship would be  
flawless, but instead she saw frayed wiring, and circuit doors lying open,  
their hinges melted. The metal walls of the ship were grimy and a flurry of  
dark dust particles fluttered whenever either of them took a step. Lotor was  
in much worse a state than he let on, Allura mused. As much as Allura  
despised him for what he had done to her planet, she couldn't help feeling a  
shred of sympathy for the dark prince. No matter how black his heart was, it  
must have been painful to see his home destroyed.  
Lotor kept his yellow eyes fixed ahead as they walked toward their   
unknown destination in the bowels of the ship. From time to time Allura  
glanced at his grim profile, wondering what was going through his mind. As  
they walked, they passed many a dark corner or adjoining hallway, and each  
time she considered darting into the dark maze, away from the Doom  
prince, maybe to sabotage the ship somehow and force it to crash--but each  
time she dismissed the cowardly thought. She had a feeling that Lotor was  
still too mired in suspicion to think of harming her. She cast another brief  
glance at him, and saw that his eyes were cloudy and thoughtful. Lance's  
trick had worked; Lotor's brain was furiously backpedalling in order to  
compensate for this unexpected occurrence.   
After a particularly potent breath of the dust-filled air, Allura sneezed.   
Lotor jerked out of his fog to fix her with his yellow stare. "At last I finally  
have you all to myself. It almost seems too good to be true--" he trailed off  
expectantly, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.  
Allura did not deign to answer, raising her head high like the princess  
that she was. she  
wondered.  
Lotor frowned, his yellow eyes becoming slits. He tried another tactic.   
"Your friends must not value you very much, to let you go so easily."  
Allura's lips tightened, but she refused to take the bait.  
At her second proud silence, Lotor's brows drew together angrily.   
"You're being quite rude, Your Majesty. Didn't that Koran fellow teach you  
manners--such as how to greet royalty?"  
"Anyone," Allura replied testily, "who plunders and kills for the sake of  
spite is not worthy of royal treatment."  
"And anyone who refuses to respect superiors is not worthy of respect   
themselves."  
"You are no superior of mine!"   
"But I will be soon," Lotor replied with satisfaction. "Where I come  
from, husbands are superior to their wives."  
Allura was beginning to see red. "I see that your ego was not  
destroyed along with your castle."  
He scowled. "You would do best not to mention that, my dear. It's a  
very sore subject, and I don't think you want to get on my bad side."  
she thought contemptuously.  
Lotor seemed to sense her disdain. He regarded her thoughtfully,  
allowing her a brief glimpse of the scarred side of his face. "How old are you  
now? Twenty-three?" He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "And still  
unmarried? What a shame."  
Allura just narrowed her gaze.  
"You must have had suitors, of course," Lotor continued patronizingly,  
"yet here you are, almost halfway to thirty, and still alone. Perhaps you just  
haven't met the right prince." One eyebrow lifted insolently.   
All too aware of his insinuation, Allura replied defiantly, "Perhaps I do  
not desire a prince." Immediately she regretted her choice of words.  
"Desire, Your Highness?" Lotor's lips curled into a crooked smile.   
He was baiting her again. Allura had to make an effort to remain cold   
silence. How good it would feel to slap that violet face!  
"You know nothing of desire," Lotor went on. "But I do." He stopped   
abruptly, facing her closely and giving her a full view of his ravaged face.   
Against her will, Allura flinched at the sight and instinctively backed away,  
toward the wall. For a moment, she saw anger flickering in the prince's  
eyes, but it was gone almost immediately.  
"For four years--four long years," Lotor repeated for emphasis, "I have  
loved only you. I could give you everything that Koran hopes for you. If you  
were my wife, I would guard your planet like my own--"  
"And enslave it like your own."  
Lotor shrugged. "At least your planet would be protected."  
"I would rather my planet be vulnerable than at the mercy of your   
cruelty."  
"Cruelty? You are the only one of us who is cruel, Princess." Lotor  
took another step toward her, causing Allura to back away further and  
inadvertently pin herself against the wall. Allura said a silent curse for having  
allowed herself to be cornered. As she had expected, Lotor had confiscated  
her blaster, but he did not know of the knife hidden in her boot. She tensed  
her body to be ready.  
"You are the cruel one," Lotor continued, his voice husky with an  
emotion that Allura did not want to analyze. "You cannot imagine what the  
past four years have been like for me. I offered you my mercy and my love  
and you continued to spurn it, forcing me to take action, hurting me as it hurt  
you."  
Allura thought, governing an almost uncontrollable  
urge to spit back a reply. Now was not the time to lose her head. She must  
remain calm, so she would not be caught off guard. She swallowed hard  
and returned his impassioned stare coolly.  
"I could have destroyed your miserable planet many a time," Lotor  
went on gruffly. "Yet I have always showed you mercy. "  
Allura could feel his breath touching her face, and it caused her  
stomach to turn. She thought longingly of Keith--of how, just a few short  
hours ago, he had stood in Lotor's place and whispered far more pleasant  
words. Finding a few precious seconds of shelter in the happy memory,  
Allura closed her eyes.  
She did not see Lotor's jaw suddenly clench, and his eyes become  
razors. Her eyes were just beginning to open when Lotor spoke again. "Am  
I ugly to you now, Princess?" he snarled, thrusting his face into hers. "Can  
you not bear to look upon me, for fear of turning your precious stomach?"  
His catlike eyes widened in sudden comprehension. "Damn you," he  
rasped. "You are thinking of him!" Lotor pressed himself closer, and Allura  
felt the bolts of the wall dig into her back. His mutilated face only inches  
from hers, Lotor continued menacingly. "I will not allow you to think of him!"   
Before Allura realized his intention, Lotor pressed his mouth hard to hers.  
Allura screamed even as she felt the pressure of his cold lips on hers.   
Fighting a wave of revulsion, she kicked up her knee and heard his  
strangled grunt as the limb hit its target. His mouth left hers and Allura had  
to fight another urge to scream. She had very little time. Lightning-quick,  
she swung her left leg toward his trunk, intending to knock him down. But to  
her horror, he simply caught her leg and held it, pressed against his side.  
Lotor was obviously still in pain; his words came in short bursts, but his   
grip was one of iron. "What would your darling space explorer think if he  
arrived to see this?" he growled mockingly.  
Allura fought to keep her balance; the last thing she wanted was to be   
supported by him. She was shaking with horror and anger; she could still  
feel his cold kiss on her mouth. Her mind desperately searched for another  
self-defense move that would get her out of this embarrassing position.  
Lotor took advantage of her shock and put his other hand around her   
waist, pulling her to him. This time, Allura realized his intention and turned  
her head, so his kiss landed on her cheek instead. Undaunted, Lotor began  
to rain small kisses all over her cheek and right ear. And even as he did  
that, Allura felt his hands fumbling at the buttons of her uniform. Seized with  
a choking fear, Allura frantically twisted her head away, and suddenly she  
had an idea--an idea that made her want to retch, but would accomplish  
what she needed.   
Lotor was moving to kiss her again when Allura suddenly swung her  
other leg up to curl around his waist. Feeling his start of surprise, Allura  
took advantage of it to wrap her arms around his chest and press her lips to  
his.  
As she had expected, Lotor was temporarily stunned by her sudden  
ardor. Allura pressed herself against him, her arms and legs encircling him,  
trying desperately to ignore the horror of what she was doing. She had to  
focus upon her goal. Her eyes tightly closed, Allura slowly reached down  
toward her right boot. Abruptly, she felt Lotor's arms tighten around her and  
made a pretense of pulling him closer in order to disguise her deft removal  
of the small dagger As soon as she felt the weapon in her hand, Allura  
sank it into Lotor's back.  
Lotor gave a yelp of pain and surprise and let go of her, his hands   
roving desperately around to grasp the blade embedded in his back. He lost  
his balance and began to topple backward, and automatically Allura  
tightened her grip on him as they fell over.  
Lotor hit the floor with a grunt. Allura lay sprawled on top of him. For   
several moments she forgot where she was, then realization hit and she  
rolled off him as if he were on fire. She dragged herself to the other side of  
the hallway and curled into a tight ball, shaking and whimpering. She kept a  
sharp eye on his still form, expecting every second to see him rise and come  
after her again, and only after what must have been ten minutes did it hit her  
that Lotor was not going to move.   
Still shaking like a leaf, Allura uncoiled her body, her eyes never  
leaving the fallen prince. He lay on his stomach, still and unmoving, his long  
white hair a tangled sea.   
I killed him. The words ran in her head a hundred times, and with  
each repetition the relief of safety sweetened, until finally she sank to the  
floor, limp, and abandoned herself to a torrent of sobbing.   
  
"Ba da bing!" exclaimed Lance. "I've got him!"  
"Thanks, Lance," said Keith from the black lion. "Circulate the  
coordinates."  
"Already done, cap. Bastard didn't get far, did he?"  
Pidge examined his nav screen. "No, I'm surprised. I thought he'd be  
out of here like a lightning, now that--" he cut the words off abruptly,  
remembering Keith.  
After an awkward silence, Hunk spoke up. "It's just like the old days  
with Keith and Sven here, huh fellas?"  
"How does it feel, boys?" asked Lance, playing along.  
"Like I'm four years younger," remarked Sven ruefully.  
"How do you feel, Keith?" Pidge inquired.   
"Annoyed," replied Keith tightly, "because you guys are talking when  
you should be tracking Lotor's ship."  
No one could think of a reply.  
  
"And they're off," Cyann announced, as the lion ships sailed out of  
view. "Off to rescue the Princess--again." When Jeff looked at her  
curiously, she continued, lowering her voice. "I'll say one thing: Allura's got  
that damsel-in-distress thing down pat. Good thing she's got no shortage of  
knights."  
"I fail to see how you can make jokes at a time like this," Koran  
snapped sharply from the main terminal. His face was pale, and behind his  
spectacles his eyes were dry and red. "Allura and the rest of the Voltron  
Force are in very real danger. This time, I fear Lotor will stop at nothing  
until--" he pressed a hand to his temple, unable to finish.  
Cyann pursed her lips sadly. "I'm sorry, Koran. I should have said  
that."  
Koran did not reply, for something had caught his eye. "A  
long-distance transmission is coming in. From Galaxy Garrison." He set to  
work establishing the connection.  
Behind him, Cyann sucked in her breath, wincing. "Damn, that man  
has the worst timing," she muttered.   
"Aldran?" Jeff guessed.  
Cyann nodded. "Expecting a report on the Conference. Koran, do you  
mind receiving it on audio only? Tell him I'm unavailable right now. "  
Koran hesitated. "I'm not sure I have the right. Aldran is your superior   
officer."  
"So what?" Cyann's tone was cold. At their shocked looks, she  
softened it. "Please, Koran, just this once? Under the circumstances I think  
it's justified. I'll make contact with him later."  
"Just explain what's going on," Ginger suggested. "I'm sure he'll  
understand that it's a bad time."  
Koran nodded. "Yes, of course."  
"Thank you," Cyann said sincerely.  
Jeff had been observing this exchange with an peculiar expression on  
his face. As Koran made appropriate excuses to Aldran, Jeff moved next to  
Cyann and spoke in a low tone. "Why make Koran do your dirty work? I  
thought you and Aldran were good friends."  
Keeping a watchful eye on Koran, Cyann answered tightly, "I just don't   
want to deal with him right now, okay?"  
The animosity in her tone was patently obvious now. On the opposite  
side of Cyann, Ginger exchanged a concerned glance with Jeff. "Have you  
got something against Space Marshal Aldran?" she inquired.  
Cyann stared at an unknown point off to the side for a few moments,   
obviously thinking, then at last met their inquisitive eyes--and those of Koran  
as he finished the transmission. "You got an hour?"   
Jeff raised an eyebrow. "Sure."  
Cyann sighed. "Just keep it under your hats, okay?"  
"Scout's honor," said Jeff.  
Ginger linked her hands behind her back. "What's going on, Cyann?"   
"Well, of course you both know about the mole they found at Galaxy  
Garrison a couple of years ago," Cyann began. "But a lot of people think  
that he wasn't alone. The amount of leaked information was so specialized  
that some think that the mole must have had a contact in a very high place,  
say, on the Board of Control."  
"A mole on the Board of Control?" Koran repeated incredulously.  
"It looks like it."  
"But can you prove any of this?"  
Cyann winced. "Well, that's where it gets complicated. Bottom-line is,  
there's evidence to indicate that," a brief hesitation, "Aldran himself is  
involved."  
"The Space Marshal!" Koran exclaimed. "You can't be serious!  
Whatever for?"  
Cyann shrugged. "There were a lot of reasons. Most of the leaked  
information had to do with both Voltrons' missions, and Aldran is the one  
who decides the where's, when's, and why's."   
"That's circumstantial," Jeff countered. "It doesn't necessarily implicate   
Aldran."  
"But it might explain why the Drule Empire always seems to know  
exactly where we are, so they can ambush us," Ginger pointed out.  
"Are you saying that Space Marshal Aldran is a spy?" Koran looked  
even more skeptical. "That's a serious accusation."  
"Which is why this is off the record," Cyann shot back somewhat  
defensively. "I had to keep this to myself until I was absolutely sure. And  
now I am."  
Koran shook his head with disapproval. "I believe your theory owes  
more to hearsay than to suspicion."  
Cyann was unfazed. "You have a right to be skeptical, Koran, but like I   
said, there are other reasons. First of all," she turned to Jeff and Ginger,  
"you both know that security's been bumped up at Headquarters, right?"  
"Yes . . .?" prodded Jeff.  
For Koran's benefit, Cyann explained, "Each major entrance to the  
main Garrison complex is equipped with a triple-step security checkpoint,  
which includes presentation of official, digitally-encoded Garrison ID,  
destination and business clearance checks, and thumprinting. Also, once  
you get up to the third floor, retinal and iris exams are included."  
"Good heavens," Koran breathed. "Is the Galaxy Alliance that  
paranoid about penetration?"  
"You bet, Koran," Jeff affirmed darkly. "Cyann's right. Next thing you  
know they'll be taking DNA samples of everybody who walks through the  
door."  
"The mole operation had been going on for four years when they  
caught the guy," Cyann clarified. "Understandably, the Board is determined  
to prevent such a thing from occurring again."  
"With such a thorough security system," Koran returned, "I don't see  
how they can fail."  
"You'd think so," replied Cyann. "The system is state-of-the-art.   
However, it would be a lot more effective if it operated on more than the first  
nine floors."  
"What?"  
"There are twelve floors to the main complex. The normal functions of  
the Garrison take place on those first nine floors. The tenth, eleventh, and  
twelfth floors are specialized; Voltron Headquarters, the Board's meeting  
room, and Aldran's office and meeting rooms, respectively. Security  
measures have hardly changed at all on those three floors."  
"She's right," Jeff admitted, scratching the stubble on his chin  
thoughtfully. "I thought that was odd."  
Ginger added, "I suppose Aldran figured they didn't have to worry  
about anyone on those three floors."  
"Precisely." Cyann replied triumphantly, raising her index finger. "But,"  
she added, cocking an eyebrow, "it also indicates that if there is a spy at  
Galaxy Garrison, the ideal place for him to operate is on one of the top three  
floors."  
A brief silence followed as everyone digested the information. "I admit  
that is suspicious," mused Koran, "but it still doesn't specifically point to  
Space Marshal Aldran. Anyone on those three floors could be the mole."  
Cyann nodded her head slightly, verifying the validity of Koran's words.  
"The rest of the reasons are primarily personal." She let her gaze fall to the  
floor. "I've known Aldran for a long time. When I was captain-supreme of  
the Space Force, we were good friends. He'd consult me on various  
matters having to do with Garrison politics, and of course as  
captain-supreme I reported directly to him. But he's different now." She  
paused, thinking. "Galaxy Garrison used to be quite involved in both Near  
and Far Universe affairs--which is how the Voltron mission was set up--but  
now Aldran's turned isolationist. A year ago, he passed down a new policy  
stating that Galaxy Garrison will not involve itself in affairs that it cannot  
benefit from."  
"I remember that policy," Ginger interrupted gravely. "No one took it  
seriously at first."  
"Aldran claimed that we must protect ourselves." Cyann sneered at  
this. "So right now the Garrison's just sitting on its ass, twiddling its thumbs  
while pretending to be doing something important. It's bull, and it makes me  
angry."  
"She has a point," volunteered Jeff glumly. "Even Voltron's mission  
load has been cut down. It's like the Garrison doesn't care anymore."  
Koran shook his head. "This is most disturbing. We have always  
relied on Galaxy Garrison to aid us."  
Cyann snorted. "And how many times have they done that? Once?   
Twice? Face it, Koran. Galaxy Garrison has never given a damn when it  
came to Planet Arus. And I'm sorry to say that it still doesn't."  
"But what does all this have to do with Space Marshal Aldran?"   
Ginger interrupted. "Don't take this the wrong way, Cyann, but it sounds like  
you're stating opinions, not facts. I agree that the new policies are  
ridiculous, but they were made in good spirit. And people change."  
Cyann still looked skeptical. "Well, there's another reason."  
"Which is?" Koran folded his arms expectantly.  
Cyann hesitated momentarily, then looked at Koran. "Why did Keith  
leave Planet Arus?"  
A strange emotion flickered in Koran's eyes. "Keith resigned for  
personal reasons," he replied guardedly.   
"In other words, he left by his own free will?"  
"Yes, absolutely."   
Cyann raised an eyebrow. "That seems strange, considering that  
Aldran sent you a direct order recalling Keith to the Garrison several months  
before he actually left."  
Jeff and Ginger gasped. "Is that true, Koran?" Jeff asked.  
Koran's jaw dropped in surprise. "How did you know about that?"  
Cyann folded her arms across her chest. "Aldran told me himself. I  
was in his office one day for a private conference and the subject of Keith  
came up. Now, Keith's a good friend of mine, and I knew he wasn't happy at  
Galaxy Garrison, so I asked Aldran flat-out if he had been dissatisfied with  
Keith's service as Voltron commander on Arus."  
  
~ Aldran looked surprised. "No, he was doing a fantastic job. You of  
all people ought to know that."   
"Then why did you allow him to return?"   
Aldran looked across his desk at Cyann, standing tall and confidently,  
her hands laced behind her back. The gaze held for several seconds. Then  
Aldran spoke, slowly, as if choosing his words with care. "I recalled him back  
here because I no longer wanted him on Arus."  
"Recalled him?" she repeated. "You mean, you ordered him back  
here? Why?"  
Aldran paused again, scrutinizing Cyann's inquisitive expression. He   
leaned forward. "Cyann, can I trust you?"  
"Of course," she replied, narrowing her eyes slightly.  
"The wars between Planet Doom and Planet Arus have been going on  
for nearly half a century, without resolution." He paused, as if expecting her  
to say something.  
"So what's your point?" Cyann shrugged her shoulders, raising an  
eyebrow at the Space Marshal. "What do you care?"  
Aldran sighed. "Look at it this way, captain. You know that I am  
planning reforms for this base, to make it more efficient, productive, and  
powerful. If I--if we can accomplish this, we will succeed in strengthening the  
Galaxy Alliance so that it may rise to its rightful place as the guardian of  
peace in the universe. But in order for this to happen, all the planets under  
our protection must accept my reforms, for only as one can we make  
ourselves strong. For this reason, we cannot allow any planet to lag behind  
in our progress toward this goal. We must discard old grudges against our  
fellow worlds, so that we may all move forward together, as one."  
Cyann looked even more confused. "I'm not sure I understand. What  
'old grudges' are you talking about? And what does all this have to do with  
Keith?"  
Aldran shook his head, changing his mind. "Never mind. Politics have  
never been your strong point, Cyann."~  
  
"And he dropped the subject," finished Cyann. "That conversation  
rankled at me for quite a while. I felt like I'd missed something, something  
big, but I could never steer Aldran back to that subject. And then, one day, it  
hit me: the 'old grudges' Aldran was referring to were the wars between  
Planet Arus and Planet Doom. While these wars were raging, there was no  
hope of uniting those two planets under Aldran's reforms. So, Aldran had to  
end the conflicts, and fast, and he did this by tipping the scales."  
"By removing Keith," Jeff concluded in dismay.   
"In stripping Voltron of its talented commander," Cyann elucidated  
needlessly, "Aldran could effectively cripple Arus, making it easy prey for  
Planet Doom."  
"My God," Koran whispered.   
"How do you know all this?" Ginger asked suspiciously. "You said  
Aldran dropped the subject."  
"It's not hard to put two and two together," Cyann replied, her gaze  
dropping to the floor.   
"Oh, come on, Cyann," Jeff burst out angrily. "For someone who's  
acting on assumptions, you seem pretty sure of yourself. This isn't the kind  
of thing that just occurs to you out of nowhere. You had to have gotten these  
ideas from somewhere--or someone."  
"Well, you're wrong!" she replied hotly. "I didn't need anyone to tell me  
this stuff; anyone with half a brain could have figured it out."  
"Well, you're the only one who has so far." Jeff crossed his arms.  
"Don't you think that's odd?"  
There was an uncomfortable silence. Jeff looked as if he had more to  
say, but before he could speak, Koran interjected soberly, "So Aldran is  
trying to yoke the galaxy with these new reforms of his."  
Cyann nodded gravely. "More or less."  
"More or less?" Ginger repeated, fed up with Cyann's deliberate  
vagueness. "Can't you give us a straight answer for once?"  
Cyann bristled. "You'd better watch it, sister. You're lucky I'm telling  
you anything at all. Don't you realize that I could lose my job for this?"  
"Why should you lose your job?" Jeff challenged. "What does Aldran  
care what a mere navigator says about him?"  
For an instant, Cyann faltered. Almost immediately, though, she  
regained control of her demeanor and replied tersely, "It's still treason, no  
matter what rank you are. But that's not the point. Aldran's had the axe  
raised for years, and before you even realize what's going on, he'll let it fall.   
I want you guys to be on guard for that moment."  
Another loaded silence. "Come on," Cyann urged quietly, "do you think  
I'd take a risk like this if it weren't important?"   
Jeff stared at Cyann for a long moment, as if judging the veracity of  
the tale in her eyes. Then he looked away, clenching his teeth in frustration.  
"That two-faced son of a bitch. He doesn't care who he hurts, just as long as  
he can push those damn reforms of his!"  
"I had no idea," Koran said hollowly. "The situation is far more serious  
than I thought." He sighed. "But I'm afraid we can do nothing until the  
Voltron Force returns." A flicker of pain crossed his face. "That is, if they  
return at all . . ."  
Ginger stepped forward and put a hand on Koran's slumping shoulder.   
"The Voltron Force will get through this, Koran; they always do."  
Koran nodded, squaring his shoulders. "There is much to do. I must  
see to the people of the village that was attacked. Will you help me?"  
"Of course, Koran," Ginger declared, exchanging an affirmative glance  
with Jeff.  
"I'll stay here and keep an eye on things," Cyann volunteered.   
  
Once the others had gone, Cyann breathed a sigh and leaned on the  
console, taking in deep, slow breaths to soothe her pounding heart. She felt  
drained, light-headed from the strain of what she had just done. It had been  
so easy, so terribly easy . . . Briefly she wondered if she'd said too much,  
then dismissed the thought. Her acting skills were one of the reasons she'd  
landed this job in the first place. Diplomacy was nothing more than glorified  
acting, Aldran had said. Cyann squeezed her eyes shut, her head beginning  
to throb. She had to be careful. It would not do to get cocky after only one  
successful performance. There were many more on the way, and each time  
it would get progressively more difficult. This time, she'd only scratched the  
surface. The more she revealed, the harder it would be to cover her tracks.   
Suddenly remembering Aldran, Cyann straightened and began to type  
a code. After a brief burst of static the Space Marshal's angry face  
appeared on the large viewscreen. "You had better have a good  
explanation for that run-around you had Koran give me, Captain Miller."  
Cyann raised her eyebrows. "Will you relax? Everything's going  
according to plan so far."  
"I'm glad to hear it," Aldran replied imperiously. "I must confess to  
having had doubts. I hope you are still clear on the objectives of this  
assignment."  
"I'm working on it, okay?" She was suddenly irritated.  
Aldran's countenance remained impassive. "Cyann, I chose you for  
this mission because I hold you in high respect. Your--unique--experience  
made you an ideal choice, but an ambiguous one. If things go as planned,  
you will be rewarded. Should this assignment prove--too difficult for you,  
rest assured there will be consequences."  
Cyann stood up tall. "I give you my word, Space Marshal. I will not fail  
you."  
Aldran gave a thin smile. "I'm afraid that's not enough to convince me.   
I have reason to believe you have decided to double-cross me. To that end,  
I am dispatching a small garrison to escort you back to headquarters. They  
will arrive tonight. You will go quietly."  
"What?!"   
"You heard me, Cyann," Aldran replied severely. "You will return to  
the Garrison tonight. Report to me as soon as you arrive."  
Cyann's jaw had slackened. For a few seconds she simply stared at  
the angry space marshal's image, as if at any moment Aldran would declare  
that he was kidding. But his face remained stern.  
Cyann dropped her gaze, considering her next move. Abruptly, her  
head snapped up. "No."  
Aldran turned a dark red. "What did you say?"  
"You heard me," Cyann replied, throwing his words back at him.  
"What you are attempting is mutiny, Captain. Hardly a welcome  
addition to your previously flawless record."  
"So be it." She was indifferent. "I'd like to complete the mission."  
"Not until you give me proof that you can still be trusted." Aldran raised  
his eyebrows significantly. "I have not been hearing good things from my   
surveillance department, Cyann." The Space Marshal smiled. "I suggest  
you make an effort to find alternate topics of dinner conversation."  
Cyann flushed. "Did Jed tell you that?" she demanded acidly.  
"Still competitive, I see. " Aldran had a patronizing smirk.  
"What the hell is he doing here?"  
Aldran laughed heartily. "A bit of insurance in a world of jeopardy,  
Cyann."  
"You don't trust me?"  
"Only so far as the Voltron Force is concerned. This mission was a  
test of your loyalty."  
Again her cheeks colored. Between clenched teeth, she said, "I plan   
restore your faith in me, Space Marshal."  
"Very well. I am hereby placing you under arrest for disobeying a direct   
order from a superior officer. You will return to the Garrison as a prisoner,  
rather than an officer." He shook his head. "It's a damn shame, Cyann.  
You've always been one of my best officers. You could have gone so far. . .  
and in the end you'll end up back where you started."  
"Go to hell," she replied coldly, "Sir."  
For a long moment, the Space Marshal and the captain stared at each   
other. Then Aldran's image vanished as he cut the transmission.  
Cyann stood still, arms crossed, thinking hard for several minutes.  
She could feel anger trembling in her chest. So Aldran didn't trust her! He  
had never trusted her! Wounded pride made her clench her teeth even as  
raw fear froze in her belly. It had never fully occurred to her that she could  
be replaced, that there were others to whom Aldran could turn; now what  
she had considered an idle threat was fast becoming a reality. Cyann was  
suddenly seized with the need to confront Jed, to find out exactly where she  
stood--with him, and with Aldran. She left the control room, heading for the  
detention cells, unable to shake the feeling that Aldran's eagle gaze was still  
fixed upon her.  
  
At first the detention guard, who was unfamiliar with Cyann's  
connection to the Voltron Force--and also alerted to the possibility of a spy  
in the Castle of Lions--refused to admit her. But, after some fast talking and  
a few dazzling smiles, he seemed to change his mind. Sending one last  
grateful smile to the unsuspecting guard, Cyann turned toward the prisoner  
almost apprehensively. For although they were separated by steel bars, she  
still felt exposed. But the moment his black eyes met hers, the old anger  
resurfaced, giving her strength.  
Jed stood in the middle of the small cell, arms folded, his challenging  
gaze daring her to make the first move.  
Cyann took a deep breath. "Jed."  
His expression was immovable. "Cyann."  
There was an uncomfortable, loaded silence. Cyann was horribly  
conscious of the oppressive air. pride  
admonished her silently. "What is your mission here?" she asked frostily.  
"I could ask the same of you," the prisoner replied. "I did not realize  
the extent to which you spread your . . . influence."  
Cyann narrowed her eyes. "Never mind the insults. Are you really  
here to check up on me?"  
"What do you care?" Jed answered airily. "You're Aldran's little pet.  
It's amazing how far a great pair of legs can take you, isn't it, Cyann?"   
She flared. "Shut the hell up. I got where I am because of skill, unlike   
some I could mention."  
Jed shrugged mockingly. "It's none of my business how you get to the  
top." He raised his eyebrows suggestively, and chuckled at her scowl.   
"How dare you speak that way to me?" she demanded furiously, her  
blue eyes pure ice. "After all I've done for you!"  
"Water under the bridge," he answered coolly. "Nothing more."  
Cyann pursed her lips and nodded in resignation. "Fine. Two can  
play at that game." She turned her back to him. "I hope you enjoy  
incarceration, Jed, because I can assure you that this time I will not use my  
influence to show you mercy."  
He bristled. "You'd better not count your chickens before they hatch,   
Cyann. Being a spy is one thing, but being a two-faced traitor--"  
. She whirled furiously. "You don't know anything about me! You never  
did! I may not be perfect, but at least I'm trying to do the right thing."   
"Somehow I doubt Galaxy Garrison--or for that matter, Planet  
Arus--will see it that way," Jed replied insolently. "Haven't you heard the  
expression: 'you can't have your cake and eat it too?' "  
She gazed at him scathingly, then without another word she turned  
and wrenched the door open, trying hard to keep her temper.  
"Compassion is a weakness in this game, Cyann," he called after  
her, determined to have the last word. "You start caring about others rather  
than yourself, and you lose the edge. You're no use to Aldran now!"   
The cell door slammed behind her, cutting off Jed's cynical laughter.   
Cyann clenched her fists, her lips set in a tight, unmistakably angry line.   
A figure emerged from the shadows beside the cell door, still  
resonating from the force of the slam, and watched the retreating form of the  
angry captain disappear down the hall. When she was gone, he opened the  
cell door.  
The security guard looked up warily. "What can I do for you,  
Commander?"  
  
Cyann stomped back to her room, her expression dangerously  
unstable. She gave the door a fierce slam, cursing loudly, not caring who  
heard her. she fumed. She strode purposely over to her bed and reached under it for her  
suitcase. Kneeling on the floor, she unlocked the padlock with a long code,  
and slowly opened the bag.  
After rummaging through a few items, she sat back on her heels,  
unmoving, staring down at the contents in silent contemplation, reaching  
down to run her fingers over the jumbled mass of wires and switches. She  
heard Aldran's voice, cool and efficient, as he handed her the suitcase one  
hour before her departure for Arus: "Half of this in the main power room and  
the Castle of Lions is defenseless. You know when to use it."   
An idea began to form. The minute that Cyann had stepped onto the  
landing platform of the Castle of Lions, all thoughts of detonating the bomb  
had flown from her mind, but Jed's words were ringing insistently in her  
head--and he'd made it clear in the past that he was all too willing to step  
into her shoes. Cyann's fingers gripped the suitcase with white knuckles at  
the thought and she looked down into the suitcase with new determination. It  
was a simple enough mechanism, a tweak here and there could reduce the  
potency of the explosive by more than seventy-five percent, something that  
could be chalked up to a simple power surge.   
Suddenly Cyann caught herself, the foolhardiness of the plan chilling  
her blood like a pail of ice water. In that moment she realized just how  
close to the edge she had been pushed. she told herself firmly.   
Cyann turned away from the suitcase and leaned against the bed,  
bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her cheek on them, taking  
deep breaths to cool her temper. This had been Jed's intention all along,  
she realized, beads of nervous sweat forming on her brow. Jed was well  
familiar with her flash-fire temper and he had used it to his advantage.   
"Captain Miller to the Control Room."  
At the sound of the intercom posted in every room, Cyann jumped a  
mile. Her heart thudding guiltily, she stood up, flushing the turbulent  
thoughts from her mind. In the washroom, she splashed some cold water on  
her burning cheeks, then left the chamber at a run, forgetting all about the  
suitcase.  
  
When her crying fit ended, Allura felt weak as a kitten. Numbly, her  
hands and legs shuddering with exhaustion and leftover terror, she  
managed to get to her feet. She swayed at first, and braced herself on the  
wall. Prince Lotor lay motionless on the floor, his waist-length white hair  
tangled in a growing pool of blood. Allura had to make an intense effort to  
keep from vomiting. As she stared at him, Allura felt an awesome surge of  
hate rise within her breast.   
Lotor should have had a full crew; it was amazing that none of them  
came running at her strangled shouts. But no one came, and the rage  
eventually passed, leaving the Princess of Arus feeling curiously stronger.   
The anger had a cleansing effect; it cleared her mind so she could decide  
what to do next. I must contact the Voltron Force she thought. I must  
get to the cockpit.  
  
"I don't like this," grumbled Hunk. "Why isn't Lotor firing?"  
"I say he's playing dead," Lance replied grimly. "No way I'm letting my   
guard down."  
"I'm with you," said Keith. "I've never known Lotor to turn down a  
fight."  
"I never do," Hunk added with determination.  
Inside the red lion a new light suddenly caught Lance's eye. "What  
the--" He pressed a few buttons, then scanned the code that flashed across  
the corresponding computer screen. he  
thought, his jaw tightening as he keyed the deciph code. I wonder what  
His Majesty's got to say.  
"Lance? This is Allura. Are you there?"  
Lance felt his heart skip a beat. Lightning-quick, he stabilized the  
signal and switched on the intercom. "God, Allura, are you okay?"  
"I'm fine, Lance." She sounded slightly out of breath.  
"Where are you?"  
"In Lotor's cockpit. He didn't have a crew; the ship was on autopilot."  
So that's why he wasn't firing. "Where's Lotor?"  
There was a pause that alarmed Lance even further. "Out of  
commission for now. Can you guys board the ship?"  
"Just try and stop us," Lance retorted.   
"I'll open the docking bay, and meet you there."  
"Check. Anything else?"  
"Yes," she replied, then hesitated. "Tell Keith--I'm okay."  
"Will do. See you in a few minutes." Lance terminated the signal and   
punched the intership comm a second later. "Guys, I just got a message  
from Allura--"  
"Why didn't you patch it through?" Keith interrupted sounding angry.  
"Is she okay?"  
"She's all right, but shut up and listen. She's in the cockpit; she said   
Lotor's out of commission and asked us to board. The docking bay's open."  
"Let's do it," said Keith. "We haven't got a minute to lose."  
  
After a few minutes of figuring out how to unlock the docking bay,  
Allura put the ship back on autopilot, then hurried there to meet her friends.  
When she reached the entrance, she could hear the rumble of the lions'  
engines, and the bay door growling to a close. A small green light  
appeared on the circuitboard next to the entrance, indicating that it was now  
safe to enter the bay. Allura pressed a button and almost dove into the  
hangar.  
The Voltron Force was already scrambling out of their lions. Hunk   
shouted, "Princess! Are you okay?" but Allura only had eyes for one person.  
When she saw him, his pale face a striking contrast to his raven hair,   
Allura's strength evaporated. Suddenly her eyes were hot with tears.  
Keith caught her shoulders as she hurtled towards him. At arm's  
length, he examined her with concern. "Are you okay?"  
Allura wanted so much to bury her face in his strong shoulder, but she   
understood the look in Keith's eyes: She sighed, forcing a  
smile. "I'm okay. I'm fine, everyone." Their worried looks touched her.  
"Lotor didn't try anything, did he?" Hunk asked brusquely. "'Cause if  
he did, I'm gonna--"  
"Cool off, Hunk," Keith interrupted warningly. "Now's not the time to  
lose our heads." He turned back to the Princess. "Where's Lotor?"  
Remembering the horrible episode, Allura's eyes again filled with  
tears. She had never killed a man before, however awful. What would the  
Force think when they found out what she had done? What would Keith  
think of how she had had to do it? Aware that everyone was regarding her  
curiously, Allura blinked the tears away. "It's a long story," she stammered.   
"I'll show you where I--follow me."  
She led them through the darkened corridors, noting their expressions  
as they surveyed the sad state of the ship. Sven, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge  
observed the decay with concern, talking quietly among themselves, but  
Keith's eyes remained fixed ahead.  
Allura's heart began to pound as they neared the scene of her crime.   
She could feel Lotor's hands on her, his lips, and it took great courage not to  
turn and run in the opposite direction. She caught Keith's eyes, dark and  
concerned as he noticed her agitation. She wanted to smile, to reassure  
him, but her lips would not move and she was forced to look away.  
They came around another turn, and Allura slowed, bracing herself.   
One more turn and they would be in the corridor where she had left Lotor's  
corpse. It became harder and harder to walk normally, her legs were  
trembling so violently.   
She felt Keith's hand touch her arm, but she ignored it and walked  
faster, just wanting to get the scene over with. She turned the final corner,  
and gasped.  
The Voltron Force surrounded her instantly. "What is it?" exclaimed   
Pidge.  
"There's blood on the floor!" Sven cried, pointing.  
Keith's hand clamped like a vise upon Allura's arm. "He--he was--right  
here," Allura whispered, her hands flying to her lips. "Right here."  
"What the hell happened here?" Lance's tone was dangerously  
unsteady. Allura opened her mouth to speak, then was arrested by their  
furious expressions. They were already on edge; telling them what Lotor  
had tried to do might to more harm than good, particularly to those with  
hair-trigger tempers like Hunk and Lance. Even Keith had an expression on  
his face that Allura had never seen before; cold and dark and--frightening.   
"Allura, what happened?" Pidge demanded, his fists clenched.  
Allura made her decision and shook her head. "Not now. We've got  
to get off this ship before he finds us."  
Keith's grip on her arm relaxed as he composed himself. "She's right,"  
he said to the others, his tone filled with authority. "Let's go."  
"Wait a minute," complained Hunk. "Shouldn't we find Lotor first? If  
we leave he'll just come after us, and it'll be war all over again."  
"Hunk's right," said Lance, curling his hands into fists. "I say we settle   
things with the Prince once and for all."  
"No!" Allura cried. "Please, let's just go. I don't want to stay here a   
moment longer."  
"Don't worry, we'll protect you, Allura," Pidge assured.   
Allura looked at Keith and was horrified to see that he was actually   
considering the idea. "Keith, we can't stay," she implored, touching his arm.   
"Please," she repeated, "let's go."  
Keith was obviously torn, but Allura was tugging his arm with a strange   
urgency. He started to reply--  
"Leaving so soon?" gasped a familiar voice.  
Prince Lotor stood at the end of the hall, his face a sickly mauve  
instead of its usual vivid periwinkle. The contrast emphasized his scars,  
turning them a vivid red against his ashen skin. The Voltron Force caught  
their breath in horror.  
Allura shrank behind Keith, revulsed by the sight of the man whose  
hands had pawed her body. Automatically Keith stood up tall. "You're  
outnumbered, Lotor."  
Lotor scowled. "I've a score to settle with you, boy." He gasped  
between words. "You recall the deal: you or Princess Allura. I'll allow your  
friends to leave, but you must stay."  
"No!" shrieked the Princess.  
Keith's expression did not alter. He turned his head slightly toward his   
friends. "Go."  
"Are you crazy?" Lance demanded. "The hell I'm leaving you here."  
"Me neither!" chorused Pidge and Hunk.  
Keith's teeth were clenched. "I said, go."  
"We're not leaving, Keith," Sven replied firmly.  
"This is your one chance to save your friends and their planet," Lotor   
hissed. "Either you stay here and face me or I'll send my fleet to Arus."  
"You don't have much of a fleet left," Lance shot back contemptuously.   
"We'll make mincemeat out of your army."  
"I may not have enough soldiers left to destroy the Castle of Lions, but  
I have enough to wipe out the nearby village!" Lotor threatened.  
Allura's knees felt weak. "You can't!"  
Keith's brows drew together as he stared at Lotor. "If I stay, you've  
gotta promise that you won't go anywhere near Arus."  
Allura thought, panic flooding every limb. "Keith, no!   
We can defend the village. Voltron can do it." She put both hands on his  
hard shoulders, trying to get him to turn and look at her. She caught the  
Prince's eyes on her, narrowed in anger.   
"Perhaps your little knight will be more willing to stay when he learns  
what I did to you--or rather, what you did to me!" Lotor's face twisted into a  
horrible grin.  
The men of the Voltron Force gasped.   
Allura's eyes widened in horror. "Nothing happened!" she cried. "You're lying!"  
"What will your friends think, Allura," Lotor continued, undaunted,  
"when they find out their pure princess is has the mind of a common slut?"  
"Stop it!" Allura choked, tears spilling out of her liquid blue eyes.  
Beneath her hands, she felt Keith's entire body clench. She tightened her  
grip, digging her nails into the hard muscle of his arm. "He's lying!" she  
cried, fixing her eyes on Keith. "He's lying."   
Lotor focused a gaze of challenge upon Keith. "I have no need to lie.  
Look upon her unbouttoned uniform, the red marks on her throat where my  
kisses touched. See the shame upon her flushed face. The evidence is  
before your eyes, captain. Now what do you believe?"  
"That's it, you son of a bitch!" Lance yelled, and before anyone could  
stop him, he fired his laser, hitting Lotor in the shoulder. Lance fired again,  
getting a hit in the stomach. Lotor slumped with a groan, pressing a hand to  
the wound, and turning slightly so that everyone could see that his back was  
stained with blood.  
Allura caught Keith's gaze and her eyes widened in fear. His eyes  
were positively black, blacker than she had ever seen them. And he had  
turned ghost-white. Altogether it was a frightening countenance; Allura tore  
her stinging eyes away.  
"Let's go!" shouted Sven, and Allura felt her arm grabbed roughly as  
she was pulled back toward the docking bay.  
Lotor's strangled roar echoed after them.  
  
Keith practically pulled Allura's arm out of the socket as they fled  
toward the lion ships. Allura cried out at the pain in her arm, but Keith's grip  
did not loosen.   
"Keith--" she gasped, but his grip only tightened. It was as if he'd  
gone mad. Allura's foot caught and she stumbled and fell against him. He  
finally looked at her.   
"Allura, we've gotta go!" His voice was harsh; unrecognizable--it   
frightened Allura and she dropped her eyes. Keith took hold of her arm and   
wrenched her to her feet as they began to run again.  
When they reached their ships, Allura started to follow Keith to the  
black lion, and received a rude surprise when she felt Keith shove her  
toward Lance.   
Lance was also surprised. "Keith--" he began.  
Keith ignored him; he was already boarding his lion ship. As she  
gazed at his retreating form, Allura felt Lance take her arm and gently lead  
her into the red lion.  
Inside the ship, Lance gently strapped her into the spare seat. "You   
okay?" he asked, his brown eyes serious.  
Allura nodded absently. Through the viewscreen of Lance's red lion,  
she could see the black lion's eyes gleam as it powered up. She was still  
confused by Keith's brusque treatment of her; it was so unlike him. she wondered fearfully. The look on Keith's face when he  
saw Lotor's bloody wound hung before Allura's blurry eyes--and the way he  
had stared at her--as if he hated her! Allura felt a lump rise in her throat,  
and as Lance powered up the controls, she put her hands over her face and  
cried.  
  
Inside the black lion, Keith tried desperately to put the Princess out of  
his mind. The horrible images hovered before his eyes like ghosts: Prince  
Lotor's bloodstained uniform, Allura's pallor, her tearstained face, the top  
buttons of her uniform undone, revealing red, bruised skin--Keith squeezed  
his eyes shut against the volcanic feelings the images stirred in him--the  
utter rage. I shouldn't have let her go . . . it's my fault . . . His eyes felt  
gritty, hot with tears of anger and self-hate. Keith took one hand off the  
steering column and pressed his throbbing forehead. He must keep  
control, remain cool and focused, ignore the fact that every fiber of him was  
crying out for Lotor's blood. The very thought of the prince even laying a  
hand on Princess Allura was enough to drive Keith mad, let alone . . . he  
could not bear to think of it. Keith opened his eyes and stared straight  
ahead, making a valiant effort to clear his turbulent thoughts. Now was not  
the time lose his head.  
"I'm sending the coordinates for the hyperspace jump," Keith said into  
the intership comm, marvelling at how even his voice sounded. "Ready at  
my mark."  
  
Once the lions had entered hyperspace, Lance turned around to   
contemplate the weeping Princess. "Are you sure you're okay?" he  
demanded, sounding worried.  
Allura scrubbed tears off her face. "I think he hates me, Lance."  
"Who? Keith? Why would he hate you?"  
"Because of what I did," she sniffled.  
Lance looked at her closely. "What did you do?"  
Allura avoided his gaze. "I just want to go home," she whimpered, like  
a little girl.  
Lance regarded her sympathetically, his eyes tender. "We'll get you  
there, Princess."  
  
An anxious Koran--accompanied by an even more anxious  
Nanny--waited outside the Castle of Lions, along with Jeff, Ginger, and  
Cyann, watching the lions as they neared their landing site.  
"Well, it doesn't look like they've had a battle," Cyann said critically,   
scrutinizing the condition of the lion ships. "Yet."  
"Oh, I hope Princess Allura's okay," Ginger worried. "Trapped on that   
horrible ship with that horrible man--" she stopped when Jeff placed a  
warning hand on her arm, nodding toward Koran.  
The lions touched down a hundred feet from the Castle, and the  
Voltron Force began to disembark.  
Nanny picked up her skirts and ran forward as fast as her chubby legs   
could carry her. "Princess!" she cried.  
"She's over here," came Lance's voice. Everyone turned to see Lance   
gently leading a bedraggled Allura out of the red lion. Nanny engulfed her in  
a hug instantly, sobbing furiously.  
"My baby, my poor, precious child . . ."  
Koran moved with surprising speed, considering his health and age,  
and, even before Nanny could let go, he caught both of them in a fierce hug.   
Allura buried her face in his broad shoulder, simultaneously attempting to  
talk Nanny out of her sobs while holding back her own.   
A few feet away, Cyann eyed a wan Lance in concern. "Hey, anything  
broken?"   
Lance glanced at her, then at the Princess, and Cyann felt her  
stomach drop. "What happened?" she asked sotto voce, shooting another   
concerned glance at Allura.  
Lance shook his head and removed his helmet. "She wouldn't tell us,"  
he said softly.  
Jeff noticed that only four Voltron pilots were present. "Hey, where's--"  
Everyone looked at the black lion as its hatch slowly opened and a red   
uniform slid silently out. He moved easily, calmly, as if nothing was wrong.   
Everyone eyed him with concern as he quietly approached them. Only  
when he removed his helmet did everyone notice that Keith's face was so  
pale he looked ill.  
Allura broke away from Koran and Nanny's fierce grip. "I told you I'd  
come back," she whispered, with a pathetic attempt at a smile.   
"Are you all right?" Koran asked gruffly, for the thousandth time.  
Allura felt everyone's eyes on her. Slowly she nodded.   
No one looked convinced. "Let's get her inside," said Cyann.  
  
After Dr. Gorma had thoroughly examined her and found nothing more  
than a few bruises, Allura was released from the med facility. With some  
difficulty, Koran then excused himself to prepare for the now-certain  
onslaught of the resurrected Doom army, taking Cyann along to help, while  
Ginger and Jeff headed for the security wing to check on Jed. The Voltron  
Force was left alone.  
"Are you ready to tell us what happened?" inquired Pidge.  
Allura looked at their worried faces and felt her heart sink. "It doesn't  
matter," she evaded, reluctant to tell the painful story. "We should be  
preparing for--" she broke off, seeing that it was no use.  
"Allura, we're your friends," Lance interrupted quietly. "You know you  
can tell us anything."  
Allura shook her head, turning away to avoid their earnest gazes. "I  
don't want to talk about it, okay?"  
Silence. "Did he--?" Hunk began, then stopped, reluctant to continue.  
Allura thought in frustration,  
clenching her fists to stave off the nervous breakdown she could feel  
approaching. She lowered her head, still refusing to meet their concerned  
eyes. "Please," she implored softly. "I don't want to discuss it."  
"Princess," she heard Pidge say after another pause, "you'd tell us if  
he hurt you, wouldn't you?"  
Unseen to them, Allura squeezed her eyes shut. "Of course," she  
whispered stiffly. "Now, please leave me alone."  
Keith spoke his first words since Allura's return. "Why don't you guys  
take this time to prime your lions? Make sure they're in perfect condition for  
battle."  
It was a dismissal. They were concerned about the   
Princess, but the familiar commanding note had returned to their former  
captain's voice. Obediently, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge ambled off, talking  
quietly among themselves. Sven hung back, looking at his friend the  
captain, and placed a supportive hand on Keith's shoulder. Their eyes met  
in intense nonverbal communication, and then Sven followed his comrades.   
In the charged silence, Allura felt Keith's presence behind her, waiting  
patiently for her to speak. When she remained silent, he spoke instead.  
"Allura," he said softly, "please, did Lotor--hurt you?"  
Allura wanted to cry at his gentle, familiar tone--so different from that  
of the madman she'd glimpsed on Lotor's ship. The words rushed to her lips,  
but when she opened her mouth to speak, only a sob escaped. Suddenly  
she was a little girl again, looking for safety and security in the closest pair of  
arms. She threw herself into his embrace and he held her tightly, as if she  
could fly away from him at any moment. Finally, Allura could bury her face  
in his strong shoulder, as she had so longed to on Lotor's ship.   
She felt Keith's lips, soft on her forehead. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I   
shouldn't have let you go." His hand found her chin, tilting it up so he could  
look into her eyes. "I'm sorry."  
Staring up at him, Allura shook her head. "It's not your fault."  
Keith did not look convinced. He regarded her intently for several  
seconds. "Are you really okay?" he asked again, even more quietly.  
Allura started to say yes, when the enormity of Lotor's assault fully hit  
her. In that instant, she realized what might have happened had she not  
had that knife in her boot. Just thinking about it made her shudder, and  
without even realizing it, more tears began to flow freely from her tired eyes.  
Attuned to her distress, Keith tensed. His eyes narrowed, and his  
voice roughened as he caressed her shining cheek. "If he harmed a hair on  
your head . . ."  
A lucid thought penetrated Allura's jumbled mind. Keith's voice,  
usually so calm, held an alien timbre of fury that frightened her. What would  
Keith do if he found out what Lotor had tried to do? Allura knew the answer:   
Keith would fly right back to Planet Doom and confront Lotor, which was  
exactly what the dark prince wanted. And even if she managed to convince  
Keith that the incident had caused no serious physical damage, Allura had a  
feeling that he would seek out Lotor anyway; that was the kind of man Keith  
was, the kind of honor he would uphold. In that moment, Allura realized just  
how powerless she was. She could no more prevent what she sensed was  
coming than she could stand firmly in the face of a cyclone. she thought, making her decision. Keith must  
never know what happened on Lotor's ship, she decided; the possible  
repercussions were just too risky. . Allura looked into Keith's distressed eyes and  
shook her head for the final time. "It doesn't matter. It's over."  
Keith gave her a penetrating stare; Allura had the uncomfortable  
feeling that he could see straight into her heart and read the truth. For a  
moment he seemed about to press the matter further, but abruptly he  
stepped back, clearing his throat, and releasing her from his embrace. "All  
right," he said, his eyes never leaving her. "I'll see you later then." He  
started to turn away.  
"Keith."   
He turned back. "Yes?"  
"Please don't be angry with me."  
"I'm not angry."   
Allura just looked at him.  
Keith sighed. "I'm not angry," he repeated. After a moment's  
hesitation, he leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek. "I have to go."  
Allura stood frozen in place until he had disappeared down the  
corridor.  
  
"Why are we doing this?" Ginger asked on their way to Jed's cell.   
"Shouldn't we be preparing for battle, too?"  
Jeff's expression was thoughtful. "Not yet. There's something I'd like  
to ask Jed."  
"So ask him. I'm going to help Koran." Ginger started to part ways, but  
Jeff grabbed her arm with a strange urgency.  
"No, wait. I need you to be a witness."  
"A witness to what? Jeff, what the hell are you talking about?"  
Before answering, he glanced around surreptitiously, making sure they   
were alone. Then, at a low volume, he began to speak. "I went to talk to Jed   
again while Koran was making a speech to the townspeople of that village  
that got attacked. When I got there, I heard shouting. It was Cyann, arguing  
with Jed. Just then, someone flung the door open; I scrambled to the side  
just in time to see Cyann stomping out the room like she was about to kill  
someone. And then I heard Jed shouting after her: 'Compassion is a  
weakness in this game. You start caring about others instead of yourself,  
and you lose the edge. You're no use to Aldran now!' "  
Ginger looked puzzled. "What does that mean?"  
"That," said Jeff grimly, "is what I intend to find out." He did not speak   
again until Jed stood facing them, on the other side of the bars.   
"Well," Jed said cynically, "to what do I owe--"  
"Shut up and listen," Jeff snapped severely. "How do you know Cyann   
Miller?"  
The prisoner's eyebrows shot up, but his expression remained cool.  
"Cyann Miller?" he parroted insolently.  
"Cut the crap and tell me the truth!" Jeff growled. "How do you know  
her?"  
Jed did not appear intimidated. Fearing for the worst, Ginger  
tentatively gripped Jeff's arm. "Jeff, calm down," she whispered.  
Jeff relaxed his taut jaw muscles, realizing that his anger was of no  
use. "All right. How about if I ask a different way. What is the real reason  
she's in trouble with General Aldran?"  
Jed gave a wide, slow smile. "Because," he began in a light tone,  
"she's not doing her job."  
"What job?" asked Ginger.  
  
Sven was waiting as Keith turned the corner. "Keith--"  
"Hi, Sven." Keith did not even look at him.  
Sven put out a hand to stop him. "Wait, please. The boys and I are   
meeting in the rec room. Please join us."  
Keith met Sven's eyes and knew he could not make an excuse. His  
friends knew him too well.  
It seemed treasonous to meet in the recreation lounge, as if nothing  
was wrong, when in fact things couldn't be worse. His teammates stood  
awkwardly as Keith entered the lounge. Keith glanced briefly at his friends,  
then sat down in the first chair he came to, pushing the Princess out of his  
thoughts. "Pidge, Hunk, Lance, are your lions primed?"  
"Standing by," Hunk replied quietly.  
"How's the Princess?" Pidge asked before Keith could fire another   
question.  
Keith dropped his gaze momentarily, then fixed his teammates with  
stern look. "We're not talking about the Princess right now, Pidge--"  
Hunk interrupted this time. "I think we should, Keith."  
"Later, Hunk."  
Lance, leaning against the opposite wall, looked up in resentment.   
"Don't you care about her at all?" he snapped.   
It was very rare observation to see Keith lose his temper, but when he  
did, he really lost it. The captain's head snapped up, his eyes two  
smoldering coals. He glared at Lance, his speech cold and clipped. "What  
the hell is that supposed to mean, Lance?"  
Lance looked as if he regretted his hot words, but he was on edge as  
well and his concern for Allura banished all sense of tact. "How can you talk  
about the damn lions when Allura has just returned from God-knows-what  
pit of hell? How can you talk strategy when she's obviously hurting? How  
can you act so unconcerned when that bastard is getting away after--after--"  
he couldn't bring himself to complete the thought.  
Keith's pale face flushed pink. In a single bound he had Lance by the   
collar, pinning him against the wall. "How dare you say that to me?! It was  
your goddamn idea for her to go in the first place! How the hell do you think I  
feel?! Do you think I'm not angry? Do you think that I wouldn't like to go  
back to Doom and tear Lotor's heart out?" Keith spat these words with  
unconcealed fury. "Do you actually think what may have happened to her  
doesn't matter to me?"  
Sven was on his feet in an instant, trying to pry the two apart. "Keith!  
Lance! Calm down! This isn't helping Allura!"  
Slowly, Keith seemed to come to his senses. He lowered his head and  
released his grip, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths to cool his  
temper.   
His own cheeks flushed, Lance absently straightened his collar, never  
taking his eyes off Keith. "She wouldn't tell you anything, either?" he asked  
quietly.  
Keith shook his head, still breathing deeply.  
Sven put a hand on Keith's shoulder. "She wouldn't talk to any of us."  
Keith gave no sign of having heard. "I should have gone," he said  
dully. "It's my fault."  
"It is not," Sven contradicted. "We couldn't have known. We still don't  
know. Let's not jump to conclusions before we know all the facts."  
It was the kind of thing Keith himself would have said. Their former  
captain looked surprised, then nodded, looking ashamed. "You're right,  
you're right. I'm sorry, Lance. I shouldn't have lost my temper."  
Lance shrugged. He was obviously still angry. "I wish she'd tell us  
something, so we could stop worrying about it."  
"Why should she?"  
The men turned to see Cyann standing in the open doorway, her eyes   
narrowed and her expression cool.  
"What does that mean?" Lance asked crossly.   
Cyann stepped fully into the room, her arms crossed. "None of you  
has any idea what Allura is going through. Put yourself in her shoes: you've  
just returned from hell, and all you want is to forget what happened--but you  
can't because people are nagging you for details!" She paused, fixing them  
each with an individual stare. "We all have suspicions as to what happened  
on Lotor's ship. Suspicions," she emphasized, "without facts to back them  
up. Maybe you should wait until she's ready to tell you, before you allow  
rumors to get the best of your emotions. In the meantime, you've got other  
things to worry about."  
"Like Planet Doom," confirmed Sven.  
"Like Galaxy Garrison," Cyann amended.  
Everyone stared at her in surprise. "Come again?" said Hunk.  
"There's no time to explain," Cyann said crisply, looking at Keith. "To  
make a long story short, they could become a problem real fast."  
"Wait a minute, here!" Lance declared, looking from Keith to Cyann in  
confusion. "Exactly what kind of problem?"  
"They'll be here tonight to escort me back to headquarters," she  
answered, reluctantly. "I've been arrested."  
"What for?" Keith asked.  
"For conspiracy," said Jeff, suddenly appearing in the doorway, Ginger  
at his side, mirroring his tense countenance. Behind them stood several  
castle guards.  
Everyone looked at him in bewilderment. "What do you mean, Jeff?"  
asked Hunk.  
Instead of replying, Jeff made a motion toward the guards, and,  
lightning-quick, they had Cyann surrounded.  
"Jeff, what the hell--" she exclaimed, as two of the guards wrenched  
her arms behind her back and cuffed her.  
"Just what do you think you're doing?" Lance burst out indignantly.  
"Will somebody please explain something for once?"  
"She's a spy," Jeff replied between clenched teeth. "She's Aldran's  
right arm, sent here to be his eyes on Planet Arus."  
"What?!"   
"Ginger and I talked to Jed again," Jeff continued. "Apparently he and  
Cyann were both sent here to spy--and God knows what else--without either  
of them knowing it. But they both had the same mission: to ensure the  
destruction of the Castle of Lions."  
"No--!" Cyann began to struggle violently. "It's not like that! Lance,"  
her eyes were imploring as they met his, "that's not what it was about."  
Lance gazed back at her in horror, his face ashen, unable to say a  
word.  
"Lucky for us," Jeff added darkly, "she's been having second  
thoughts."  
"That's why she's in trouble," said Ginger.  
"Or maybe that was part of the plan, too," Jeff surmised acidly. "To get  
out of the way before all hell breaks loose?"  
"Shut up," Cyann spat. "You don't understand."  
"Then why don't you explain it to us, Cyann?" Keith suggested coolly,  
his expression suddenly guarded. "Somehow I get the feeling that you have  
a lot of explaining to do."  
Stunned, Cyann stopped struggling against the guards. She took a  
breath. "Fine. What do you want to know?" she asked curtly.  
Hunk clenched his fists. "Are you a spy or not?" he challenged.  
Cyann grimaced, then went limp with forced detachment. "That was  
my mission," she said dully, "but everything's different now--" she broke off  
at the look on their faces--the shock, the betrayal, the simmering anger in  
their eyes.  
"Cyann . . .?"  
Everyone whirled, startled, to see Princess Allura standing in the  
doorway, her cerulean eyes wide with astonishment.  
"Allura, you shouldn't be here--" Lance began gruffly.  
"No," Keith interrupted. "She's got a right to hear this." He fumbled for  
his comlink. "And so does Koran."  
The silence in the room was leaden and oppressive, making it difficult  
to breathe. While they waited for Koran to arrive, Jeff quietly summarized all  
that Cyann had revealed while the Voltron Force was rescuing the Princess,  
omitting only the true nature of Keith's departure. Everyone listened, rooted  
to the spot, until the door to the lounge slid open.  
"What is going on?" Koran inquired worriedly.  
Jeff motioned to the prisoner. "Cyann was just about to tell us."  
Cyann gazed from face to face, looking for compassion and finding  
none. Finally she gave up and began, almost defiantly, "What I told Jeff,  
Ginger, and Koran was true. Aldran is planning a major coup, to eliminate  
his enemies and take control of the Near Universe, a plan that's been years  
in the making. He's been favoring the Drules for years; that's why they  
always seemed to know where the Explorer was. In exchange they left Earth  
alone." She turned a solemn gaze to the members of the Vehicle Force  
present. "Aldran never forgot Vehicle Voltron's lack of support for his  
reforms."  
"That's the real reason we're here, isn't it?" Jeff asked sagaciously.  
"Aldran wanted us out of the way."  
"Basically, yes," Cyann admitted, unable to meet his gaze. "There is  
no Conference."  
Although no one made a sound, shock caused everyone to take a  
sudden breath of air. "There is no Voltron Conference," Allura repeated  
dumbly, her eyes straining to see through the layers of lies that buried the  
truth.  
Cyann shook her head. "Aldran set the whole thing up to get those  
who most strongly opposed him, the leaders of the Voltron Force, away from  
Galaxy Garrison. The Board's quarterly forum is coming up, and Aldran  
wanted to make sure his reforms went through."  
Allura's face twisted into a frown. "Is that what all this is about? Those  
ridiculous reforms?"  
Cyann nodded gravely. "Aldran is willing to do whatever is necessary  
to get them passed."  
"No matter who gets hurt," Sven finished tightly.   
When Cyann did not respond, Pidge spoke. "Why Arus?"  
Cyann's gaze was fixed on the floor. "I don't know if any of you realize  
the influence Voltron has had throughout the galaxy. Everyone knows and  
idolizes him. If other star systems heard that Voltron had refused to have  
anything to do with Aldran's reforms, he'd be hard-pressed to talk anyone  
into accepting them."  
"So that's how it is," said Pidge. "Voltron is nothing more than an  
obstacle to Aldran."  
"How can that be?" Hunk demanded hotly. "Voltron has done more for  
the Alliance in the four years since we brought him back than Galaxy  
Garrison has done in almost a century."  
"Not to mention the fact that Voltron's pulled Galaxy Garrison's ass out  
of the fire more than a few times," Lance added shortly. "Then again,  
Aldran's never been long on gratitude."  
"Now wait a minute," Jeff announced, hoping to ease the growing  
tension, "let's stick to the subject. Cyann, you said that Aldran's been  
planning this whole thing for a while. How long?"  
She sighed. "About three years, I think. Aldran was laying the  
groundwork when I returned to the Garrison after serving on the Voltron  
Force."  
"What do you mean, laying the groundwork?"  
"I mean, he was making deals with Planet Doom and the Drule  
Empire."  
"Both of them?" questioned Sven.  
"The Drules promised to leave the Near Universe alone, if Aldran  
made sure that they got the resources they needed to fortify their empire,"  
Cyann elaborated. "Aldran accomplished this by allowing the Drules to know  
the location of the Explorer as it searched for new planets. In exchange for  
relative peace around the core systems of the Galaxy Alliance, Vehicle  
Voltron got into a few fights."  
"If Aldran was setting us up," Ginger queried, "then why did he allow  
us to engage in combat with the Drules?"  
"One must keep up appearances," Cyann retorted sarcastically.  
"Aldran never had any intention of allowing the Drules to return to full power.  
He let the Drules grab a new planet here and there, but he kept them on a  
pretty tight leash. Any time it looked like they were improving too quickly,  
Aldran sent in Vehicle Voltron to take 'em down a peg or two."  
"I don't believe this!" Jeff exploded. "You mean to tell us that  
everything we did, every battle we fought, every defeat, every victory, was  
predecided?" Before she could answer, he spat, "Everything we did was for  
nothing!"  
"Not for nothing, Jeff," Cyann interjected. "As I said, Aldran didn't fix   
every battle--"  
"I can't believe you're defending him!" Ginger declared hotly. "Just  
how involved are you in this thing?"  
"Good question," said Lance, his brow furrowed into a scowl.  
"Never mind," Cyann snapped. "Anyway, I'm not finished yet. Aldran  
had another plan to keep the Drule Empire in check, and that was Planet  
Doom. There are--were--roughly between fifteen and twenty-five planets  
under the Doom crown, and only half of them contained large deposits of  
lazon. Because lazon is a key ingredient in the kind of robotic technology  
that Haggar the Witch used, the planets lacking significant amounts of this  
material were left relatively alone. The Drules had their eye on a few of  
these planets, and, in order to placate them, Aldran agreed to provide a  
distraction to keep Doom occupied while the Drules looted the planets."  
"What kind of distraction?" Allura asked, already dreading the answer.  
Cyann cleared her throat. "Before I go on, there's something you  
should know--that is, if Keith doesn't mind. It's about Keith's departure."  
Their eyes met, and after a moment, Keith gave a brief nod.  
"I don't know how many of you know this," Cyann began, "but Keith  
was recalled to Galaxy Garrison almost a year before his resignation."  
"What?" Her eyes wide, Allura looked to Keith for confirmation.  
"Is this true, Keith?" Hunk inquired.  
Keith crossed his arms across his chest and nodded grimly.  
"But why?" Lance demanded.  
The captain shook his head, refusing to meet their eyes. "Your guess  
is as good as mine."  
"But why didn't you go?" Allura asked, a lump in her throat.  
"Because he was needed here," Koran volunteered, before Keith  
could answer. When everyone looked at him in surprise, he sighed. "This  
explanation is long overdue, I'm afraid. At Keith's request, I've kept it a  
secret, but I think the time for discretion is past." He took a breath. "Three  
years ago, a few months after Cyann left Arus after her injury, I received a  
formal order from Space Marshal Aldran, recalling the captain of the Voltron  
Force to Galaxy Headquarters on Planet Earth. Naturally, I was stunned,  
and I contacted Aldran to ask the meaning of the order. Aldran said he was  
displeased with the 'friction' between Keith and Prince Lotor. He said that it  
had become personal, and that the only way to ease the tension was to  
recall Keith to base. I have always thought highly of Keith, and it seemed an  
insult to grant Aldran's request without consulting Keith himself.  
"Keith was as surprised as I was at Aldran's order. He apologized for   
allowing the matter to become personal, and gave me his word that he  
would not engage Lotor unless it was absolutely necessary. I conveyed this  
to Aldran, but it was not enough. I told Aldran that Keith was needed on  
Arus. Aldran became angry and in turn he gave me a direct order to  
terminate him."  
Everyone inhaled sharply. Even Keith looked shocked. Before anyone  
could reply, Koran raised a hand to silence their unspoken questions.   
"Please, allow me to finish. I could not bring myself to do it. I had much faith  
in Keith and I knew that he would give his life for Arus. However, there  
was--" Koran paused discreetly, "his relationship with Princess Allura. The  
details are not important, but in light of Aldran's order and Arusian tradition, I  
felt I had no choice but to send Keith away. I knew it would be the hardest  
decision I would ever make, because, no matter what Aldran said, I could  
not forget all that Keith had done for our poor planet. I'm sorry, Keith," the  
serious gray eyes behind the spectacles focused on the younger man,"sorry  
for driving you away from where you belonged."  
Keith made a negative gesture, the tense set of his shoulders the only  
indication of what was churning below the carefully controlled surface. "I'm  
a soldier, Koran. My place is where I'm sent. I should have gone back as  
soon as we received Aldran's order."  
"But you didn't," Pidge said quietly. "Why, Keith?"  
Keith looked up, his eyes sweeping over the faces of his friends before  
finally coming to rest on Allura. His gaze fell to the floor as he replied,  
"Because I didn't want to go."   
"But you ignored Aldran's order for so long," Allura burst out, her old  
guilt resurfacing. "Why didn't you tell us about it?" she added in her head. As she had expected, he  
looked up, and in his eyes she read the answer she had already guessed.  
Jeff cleared his throat discreetly. "So, what you're telling us, Cyann, is  
that Keith was also a pawn in Space Marshal Aldran's galactic power play."   
"More or less," Cyann replied listlessly.  
Something clicked in Allura's brain. she  
realized suddenly, It was a small relief, but Allura felt like a weight had been lifted from  
her shoulders. The past seemed to open up before her eyes. Everything  
made sense: Keith's rash decision to resign when they got in trouble after  
the clandestine target practice, his reluctance to talk about his departure,  
the turmoil in his eyes whenever he looked at her. She felt a tidal wave of  
sympathy for Keith. How difficult it must have been for a man who'd never  
disobeyed an order in his life to ignore a direct order from the head of the  
Galaxy Headquarters! To carry a burden like that, and not be able to tell  
anyone . . . Allura's throat tightened. Then, in a single instant, her sympathy  
was engulfed by a torrent of righteous anger, a surge of revulsion and hatred  
for the callousness of Aldran's scheme. she  
thought with growing fury. She faced Cyann, her blue eyes burning.   
"How could you do it, Cyann? How could you work for a man who  
plays with people as if they were toys?"  
Cyann's face flushed scarlet. "Look, I don't agree one bit with what  
Aldran is doing--   
"Then why are you working for him?" Lance challenged, clenching his  
fists.  
"Not now--"   
"Yes, now!" he roared. "You've dodged the question long enough,  
Cyann. We all know you're involved somehow, so just spill it." Lance's face  
was pale, and his forehead shown with sweat, but his expression was hard  
and he folded his arms expectantly.   
Cyann frowned, realizing that she could delay her part in the grim  
drama no longer. She swallowed. "I was in bad shape when I got back to  
headquarters after my injury in the Coral Sector. The doctors told me I would  
never walk normally again, not without a cane. My career as a pilot was  
effectively finished.  
"You can't imagine what that did to me. I had already been living on  
borrowed time with my old injury, but this new damage destroyed any  
chance I had of making something of myself at Galaxy Garrison. It was a  
nightmare from the past returning to haunt me. I was expected to receive an  
honorable discharge, or spend the rest of my life working behind a desk."  
She shook her head resolutely. "To me that was a fate worse than death. I  
would have done anything--anything--to get back to the action. And that's  
when Aldran came to see me in the hospital.  
"Aldran offered to make a deal: if I would agree to become his  
personal assistant, he would foot the bill for a new form of constructive  
surgery--prosthetic limb replacement. It was a dream come true--a chance  
to rejoin the world I loved and missed. Of course, I accepted.  
"Within six months, I was on my feet, no trace of a limp. And I was  
working closely with Aldran on Alliance negotiations and legislation. It wasn't  
flying, but was something. I became Aldran's chief deputy, aide and  
confidant. Anything going to him had to go through me first, which is how I  
found out about the Drule Empire. I was shocked at first, but Aldran  
explained that he was only doing it for the good of the Alliance." She snorted  
contemptuously. "And I believed him. I had tremendous respect for Aldran,  
and I convinced myself that, however unorthodox his reforms were, they  
really would benefit the Alliance in the long run. As time went by, Aldran  
involved me more and more in his plans, and I allowed myself to become  
more and more mired in the net of deception Aldran was weaving around  
Galaxy Garrison. By the time I realized how bad things had gotten, I was  
already irrevocably entangled. And yet, some part of me was glad to be  
where I was, in the middle of everything. As Aldran's chief aide, I received  
respect and deference. Aldran and I ruled Galaxy Garrison; his opinion--and  
therefore mine--was law. It was such an exciting place to be that sometimes  
I lost track of how far I had strayed from my own personal morals. One day I  
awoke to the realization that I'd completed a metamorphosis. I'd become  
self-absorbed, callous and a slave to my own ambition. I no longer cared  
about restoring peace to the galaxy, all I cared about was making sure that  
Galaxy Garrison was on top. I deluded myself into believing that Galaxy  
Garrison was destined to become the greatest power in the universe, and  
that the only true cause lay in fulfilling that destiny. I was completely  
brainwashed. The only thing I thought about was pleasing Aldran, making  
him proud, no matter what it was. I was determined to make myself an asset  
to him. Aldran saw that, and he used it against me. He knew about my  
ambition, my childish yearning for glory, and he said he could made it  
happen, make my dreams come true. I believed him, and committed myself  
to his cause.   
"By the time I realized how changed I'd become, it was too late. My  
position was a prestigious one, but precarious. One false move could send  
me plummeting back to nothing, to everything I had expected to be before  
Aldran made his proposal. I could not bear the thought of returning to that  
time, to that handicapped, frustrated woman with nowhere to go. And so I  
clung even tighter to the chains that bound me, embroiled myself even  
further into the hurricane brewing around me. I turned my back on  
everything I had once held dear, and became what Aldran wanted: an  
accomplice."  
Cyann paused for breath, not daring to meet anyone's eyes. They all  
waited patiently for her to continue. "There was one thing, though, that never  
sat well with me: Aldran's contempt for Voltron. Despite all the reasons he  
gave me for its uselessness, I always believed in Voltron's power. It was the  
one thing I stood up to Aldran about. Eventually, he stopped mentioning it.  
At first, I congratulated myself on swaying his judgement, liking the idea that  
I had as much influence over him as he had over me, that we were truly  
partners. Later I found out that he'd simply looked elsewhere for someone to  
support his campaign against Voltron."  
"Jed," Keith finished. "I knew I recognized him from somewhere." He  
looked at the others. "A few months before I left Arus, the Board of Control  
caught a mole sending top-secret information to the Drule Empire via the  
welcome beacon. Somehow he managed to escape the death penalty, and  
wound up only getting exiled. He was all over the papers until the Board  
suppressed the story, but I remembered his face. It was Jed."  
"Oh, my . . ." Allura breathed, horror-struck at the thought of having  
allowed such a person access to her castle.  
"I always thought there was something fishy about that," declared Jeff.  
"I couldn't understand why anyone as militant as Aldran would allow a traitor  
to go free in wartime, especially when his own Galaxy Garrison policy  
recommended execution for treason on that scale."  
"Please tell me you didn't have anything to do with that, Cyann," Allura  
implored, though she had already guessed the answer.  
Cyann was looking a little green. "I wish I could. I'm not proud of it, but  
it was through my influence that Aldran allowed Jed to go free. You see, Jed  
and I were involved once."  
Everyone drew an audible breath. "What?" Lance sputtered angrily.  
Cyann studiously avoided his gaze. "Jedrel Jhaksinn studied at the  
Academy a year behind me, specializing in undercover operations. He got  
kicked out in his last year for some stupid stunt, then disappeared for a  
while. When I became captain-supreme, he turned up out of nowhere as my  
second-in-command. I'll spare you the details of our relationship, but it  
fizzled pretty quick after I realized that Jed was gunning for my job. It was  
subtle at first, but soon I found out that he was going behind my back,  
undermining my orders and building up a flock of supporters among the  
squadron leaders. I talked to Aldran about it and Jed was demoted,  
something he never forgave me for. He disappeared again after that, and a  
a year later they found him and arrested him for treason.  
"I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Jed was cocky, insolent, and  
completely without scruples when it came to getting what he wanted. Still,  
some part of me didn't want to see him die. He had a lot of potential, and, if  
put to good use, his skills would have taken him far, even with treason on  
his record. I convinced Aldran and the Board to lessen the sentence from  
death to permanent exile outside the system, on the condition that If Jed  
ever came within fifty parsecs of Planet Earth, the death sentence would be  
reissued and cemented. The decision satisfied both the Board and myself--it  
sent Jed far away from Galaxy Garrison and got him permanently out of my  
hair. I never expected to see Jed again--so you can imagine my surprise  
when I found out that he was my understudy."  
"He was working for Aldran?" Sven asked.  
Cyann nodded bitterly. "Apparently, Aldran picked up on my inner  
turmoil regarding Voltron, and secured a backup in case I cracked. Jed was  
the perfect candidate: highly skilled at subterfuge, and he hated my guts.  
He'd never forgiven me for ruining his chances of becoming captain-  
supreme, and the fact that he owed me his life for speaking to the Board in  
his favor only made him despise me more. I suppose he saw his chance to  
get even by usurping my position as Aldran's chief confidant."  
"Is that why Jed's here?" Pidge piped up. "To check up on you?"  
She nodded assent. "I think so. I can't blame Aldran for sending him  
though--Aldran's not stupid. He knew this assignment would be hard for me,  
considering my history with you guys."  
"He was testing you," Jeff concluded solemnly.  
"What exactly was your assignment?" Keith fired into the lapse of  
silence.  
Cyann sighed again. "The assignment was to accompany certain  
members of the Voltron Force to Planet Arus for the so-called Great Voltron  
Conference, under the guise of an impartial witness. In reality, Aldran  
wanted someone here to make sure things proceeded as he had planned."  
"All of this was planned?" Sven repeated. "Prince Lotor's attack and  
everything?"  
"No, it wasn't supposed to happen the way it did. Lotor jumped the  
gun. He was supposed to wait until the Castle was disabled." Cyann  
seemed to catch herself.  
"Disabled?" Koran gasped. "What do you mean, disabled?"  
Cyann looked even more ill. "One of my duties," she said, mockingly,  
self-reproachfully, "was to disable the Castle of Lions with a bomb as soon  
as I arrived, leaving it easy prey for--" she broke off, knowing that it was not  
necessary to explain. Reluctantly, she raised her eyes.  
They were looking at her as if they had never seen her before.  
Expressions ranging from guardedness to cold fury flitted across their faces  
like aurorae. Most painful of all was Lance, staring at her in utter disbelief,  
his brown eyes filled with hurt. Cyann felt tears prick her eyes as she hastily  
looked away.  
Keith broke the silence. "I have one more question, Cyann. What was  
in it for you?"  
"If everything went as planned," Cyann replied expressionlessly,  
"Aldran promised to reissue my wings and reinstate me as captain-  
supreme."   
This single sentence stung more fiercely than anything else that had  
been revealed that afternoon. Allura squeezed her eyes shut, biting her lip  
against angry tears. Lance turned his back. Hunk clenched his fists, and  
Pidge turned pale. Jeff's jaw tightened and he gave Cyann a look of pure  
loathing.   
Ginger broke the painful silence. "You--you bitch!" she spat, her pretty  
face marred by an expression of pure disgust. "How could you betray us like  
that, while pretending to be our friend, our ally? Don't you care about  
anything besides yourself?"  
Cyann's head, lowered in shame, snapped up angrily. "Of course I do!  
What do you think I've been doing since I got here? I never had any  
intention of carrying out my instructions. I came here because I wanted to  
warn you about Aldran." Cyann sought Allura's eyes. "Remember that note  
you received at dinner last night? I sent it. With all that talk about Planet  
Doom, I wanted to put you on guard, try to prepare you for what was going  
to happen. I intended to double-cross Aldran."  
"Why should we believe you," Hunk retorted, "after what you've  
done?"  
Keith shot him a warning look. "Now, hold on, everybody. We can't  
jump to conclusions. We can't forget that whatever her assignment was,  
Cyann really hasn't done anything to harm the Castle of Lions so far. And if  
what she says is true, we've got a lot more important things to worry about  
than her duplicity."  
Cyann's eyes were red with unshed tears. "Everything I've told you is  
true," she declared. "I want to help you; that's why I'm here."  
"You're here as Aldran's spy," Lance shot back in a tone as frigid as  
Pluto, his back still turned.   
"I'm on your side!" she cried, her voice wavering dangerously. "I want  
to help you!"  
"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Keith said, his expression static, "but it  
still doesn't change the fact that you withheld valuable information that could  
have prevented everything that's happened up to now. You may not have  
done anything to hurt the Castle, but your silence endangered the lives of  
everyone in it, not to mention the people of the village that was attacked.  
Moreover, you waited until the last possible moment to come clean. You  
keep telling us that you're on our side, Cyann, but judging by your actions so  
far, you're obviously not sure, and at this point, I'm afraid we can't afford to  
take any chances."  
"What?" Cyann gasped.  
"I agree," said Sven, nodding with approval.  
"Better safe than sorry," added Hunk.  
Pidge nodded as well. "It's the only way."  
"Yes," agreed the Princess.   
Keith looked at Lance. "You've got a say in this, too, Lance."  
Lance was quiet for a long moment, then, his eyes lowered, he gave a  
faint nod.   
"No!" Cyann shrieked, struggling with renewed strength. "Please!" she  
implored her frozen comrades. "I'm on your side, you've got to believe that!"  
Still receiving no response, she launched a last-ditch effort. "Lance! Lance,  
please!"  
He stiffened, then slowly turned.  
"Lance," Cyann repeated, locking herself in place and gazing  
searchingly into his eyes, "please. You of all people have got to believe me."  
Lance held the gaze for another moment, then shook his head. "I'm  
sorry, Cyann."  
Cyann's eyes spilled over. It was no use. Without another word, she  
allowed the castle guards to lead her away.  
When she was gone, Lance expelled a shaking breath, as if he had  
been holding it for several hours. "She's telling the truth," he informed them.  
"Or at least she thinks she is."  
"Does she pose a threat to the Castle?" Keith asked quietly.  
Lance shook his head again. "I can't tell."  
"We made the right decision, then," Allura said.   
Lance muttered a curse.  
"Lance?" Allura asked quietly. "Are you all right?"  
"Peachy," came the terse reply. "I'm outta here." He practically bolted  
from the room.  
"Man, he must feel awful," Hunk sympathized. "I would if my girl   
turned out to be a spy."  
"Just let him go," commanded Keith, even though no one seemed  
inclined to move.   
Something had been niggling at Allura. "Keith, you've been good  
friends with Cyann the past two years. Did you have any inkling of this?"  
Keith sighed. "I knew she worked for Aldran, and that he was involved  
in some pretty shady stuff. I wondered a few times just how involved Cyann  
was, but I couldn't bring myself to confront her about it. I guess I never  
really believed that she could do something like this."  
"None of us did," Allura replied sincerely, touching his arm. When his  
eyes met hers, she noticed for the first time how tired he looked.   
As if on cue, Keith's mask slipped back into place. "Princess, why  
don't you get some rest? We've got a hard battle ahead of us."  
Allura opened her mouth to protest, then realized that he was not  
giving her a dismissal. He honestly looked concerned. she thought.   
As she moved out into the hallway, Allura's mind moved like  
molasses, numbed by the roller-coaster of emotions that had washed over  
her in the past day. Her world had turned upside down over and over again;  
she was suddenly frightened and alone in an unfamiliar land, a land where  
nothing was what it seemed. Frightened by what she had heard, what it  
meant, what it would mean to the unknown future. Frightened--  
But not alone.  
Allura felt the light touch on her shoulder as if in a dream. The clouds  
dispersed, the topsy-turvy world around her melted away, save for one  
person. Turning, she came into his arms gratefully, finding shelter from the  
tempest swirling around them, closing her eyes when she found that he was  
trembling as well, that he was frightened, too, that he was clinging to her for  
the same reasons that she clung to him.   
Her cheek resting on Keith's shoulder, Allura mused over the startling  
revelations that had come to pass since Keith's return. An important battle  
was ahead of them, a battle that might decide the fate of their world and  
their lives.   
But not yet. There was still some time left. And what little time they  
had they must make their own. Destiny would arrive soon enough. "Keith,"  
Allura whispered against his cheek. "Come with me."  
  
They walked toward her room as if in a dream. The door was barely  
closed before they were in each other's arms. At first their kisses were  
delicate, hushed, as if they feared to be discovered, then they grew more  
bold and more passionate. Keith held her to him as if their bodies would  
meld if pressed together tightly enough. Allura's body went warm and tingly  
all over, and she responded to Keith's ardence with her own. she thought, opening her mouth to his. I will have this moment, if  
nothing else  
They were lying on the bed, arms and legs entwined, when Allura  
noticed the tears in Keith's eyes. They would not fall; he held them in tightly,  
but they were still there, shimmering, turning his eyes to black pools of  
liquid.   
"Allura," he whispered, his voice faltering, "are you sure? After--"  
"Yes," she responded against his lips. "More so than before. I love  
you, Keith." She pulled his head down to hers again, felt him respond, and  
then they both stopped thinking.  
  
Just before they slept in each other's arms, Allura felt a premonition  
seep through her bones, but instead of eliciting fear and apprehension, the  
feeling released a surge of conviction that, even if none of them survived the  
blow hurtling towards them, they would have died for the right reasons, and  
their dreams would go on shining in the heavens, reflecting in the eyes of  
those left behind . . .   
  
TO BE CONTINUED . . . 


	4. The Reckoning

DISCLAIMER: VOLTRON AND ITS CHARACTERS ARE THE PROPERTY OF WORLD EVENTS PRODUCTIONS, INC. ALL RIGHT RESERVED. I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTERS (EXCEPT FOR CYANN, ALDRAN AND JED), AND I AM NOT RECEIVING ANY PROFIT FOR WRITING THIS STORY. 

SMALL ETERNITIES

By Cyanne, a.k.a. Saturn Girl

Part Four: The Reckoning

            Lotor cursed himself over and over for choosing to pilot the ship alone. At the time, he hadn't wanted any of his remaining Doom servants around to interrupt his time with the Princess, but now he would have welcomed the company of even the compulsively twitching Kavor to the dark, unsympathetic silence of the empty ship. His legs shuddering against his will, Lotor slowly heaved himself up, bracing his good arm against the wall and willing his foggy vision to clear. Pain was beneath him, he told himself. Any respectable Doom prince learned to endure pain with a stoneface at a very young age; it was a trademark of strength to remain composed even under the worst torture. But it was times like this that made him curse his half-human heritage. His father, Zarkon, would have had a good laugh over these simple wounds, but Lotor's body was genetically more frail, and he was forced to crouch on his hands and knees, unable to rise. Lotor felt his dry lips twist into a smirk. Even Zarkon's hardy 200-hundred-year-old body had proved frail in the near-instantaneous annihilation of Planet Doom; even Haggar's magic was useless in the face of such destruction. The irony might have been satisfying if it had not come at such a high price . . .

            Lotor groaned and heaved himself further up the grimy wall. The wound in the small of his back had stopped bleeding, leaving only a dull, sickening numbness, but the sizzling burn on his shoulder throbbed in time with his exhausted pulse. Yet still, he found the strength to rise to his full height and felt a rush of satisfaction at the triumph of his Doomnian physiology. The wounds that he had sustained in the past few hours would have killed a mere human, but, aside from the pain, the only unendurable emotion that plagued him was the rage at his humiliation.

            _Damn them, the cowards! Shooting and then turning their tails before I hit the ground. . . .as if I were no more than an animal. That damned Keith hadn't even bothered to respond to Lotor's challenge. He had offered Keith an honorable invitation, a duel between men, and Keith had simply seized his beloved princess and taken off. It was a broad-faced insult, a mockery of the unspoken warrior code to which Lotor knew they both held, and it made him furious. The prince felt his hands clutch into fists as the rage began to boil inside him._

            Suddenly everything swayed violently to the left, the ground seem to sink beneath him. Lotor's hand shot out to the wall to brace himself against the crushing nausea that rolled over him like a tidal wave. For a brief second, he thought he would die right then, it was too hard, he was half dead anyway, in no condition to take on his enemies again . . .

            _No. I cannot--I will not give up! It cannot end now, I will not allow it to end like this . . .  With much effort, Lotor willed the pain to dispell, to become a thing of the past--the past no longer mattered, all the anguish and pain must be forgotten. The present was too important. There was still something left to do._

            He had learned a hard lesson in this past week. There was no defeating Keith by any direct means. The man had luck, and skills even beyond his own--and companions who would protect him at the cost of their own lives. That was why he had failed; he had not realized that to get to Keith, he had to go through the entire Voltron Force.

            It was so simple yet satisfying that he couldn't fathom why it hadn't occurred to him before. Ever since he first been defeated by Keith, Lotor had begun searching for a way to crack that armor, get through the man's defenses and revenge his humiliation. At first he'd though that killing Keith would be the easiest solution, but he'd learned that was not so easily accomplished. So he'd had to be more subtle. When he'd learned of the Voltron captain's feelings for the lovely Princess, he believed he'd had his ace in the hole. Of course, he already desired the woman, who was lovely beyond belief; it was simply a bonus that by claiming her for his own, he could anger and humiliate Keith as well. But again, he was thwarted. Allura was not so easily claimed, and Keith's prowess where she was concerned was even more formidable. Even when Keith was sent away from Arus, recalled in disgrace by the cooperative General Aldran (in exchange for the Doom Empire staying well out of the Alliance's core of planets), he hadn't been defeated or humiliated, and neither had Allura and the Voltron Force. Ironically they'd fought even harder once Keith was gone, as if they knew he was counting on their weakness without their leader. 

            He'd been going about it entirely wrong. 

            He did not need to kill Keith. He needed to kill everyone else.

~Arus~

            "Hey Jeff, wait up!" Ginger called, flagging him down as he passed her in the hallway. "Guess what I've got!"

            Jeff's dark eyes flicked to her only briefly. "Oh, hi Ginger," he said absently.

            Ginger's excitement dampened slightly at his melancholy expression. "Well, don't get excited or anything," she retorted. "Where have you been for the past hour and a half?"

            "In the control room with Koran, why?"

            "I was looking for you."

            "Oh?" His listless tone indicated that he was still millions of miles away.

            Ginger frowned. "What's with you, anyway?" Jeff had been uncharacteristically quiet since Cyann had confessed her duplicity and warned them of Aldran's impending coup. For someone whose suspicions had just been proved right, Jeff didn't seem very triumphant--though she could hardly expect him to shout 'hooray' at guessing that one of their friends was a traitor.

            "By the way, I'm sorry I didn't believe you," she offered, hoping to bring him out of his funk.

            Jeff's frown deepened. "_I_ didn't want to believe me," he said morosely. "I almost wish I'd kept my damn suspicions to myself."

            "You mean we'd have been better off not knowing?" Ginger was incredulous.

            "No, it's just . . .we're on our way to hell in a handbasket, Ginger! What difference does it make whether we know it or not?"

            "The difference is that we can do something about it!

            "What the hell can we do? Prince Lotor is--in addtion to being completely insane--bent on killing Keith, one member of this castle is a spy, one of our friends is a traitor, and back home on Earth, those new reforms are about to have Galaxy Garrison cornered." He ticked each item off with a finger, then curled them into a fist.

            "Aldran's got us surrounded, Ginger. He's been laying the groundwork of a giant power play for three years. Things are a helluva lot worse than even I imagined. Aldran's got us right where he wants us. We're trapped."

            "I can't believe you're talking this way," Ginger retaliated hotly. "You've always told me that when you're backed into a corner, the only thing you can do is fight. Well, I agree that we're cornered, so we've got to fight!"

            "But we can't take on Prince Lotor and Aldran at the same time! We can't be in two places at once!"

            "Oh, yes we can!" Ginger removed a piece of paper from her pocket. "Know what this is? It's a written and signed statement from Cyann proving Aldran's conspiracy. I asked her after the guards took her away. She was all in favor of it. All we have to do is get this back to Galaxy Garrison in time for the quarterly Board meeting tomorrow morning. Aldran may have been able to finesse the Board of Control into overlooking his questionable methods, but what will he do in the face of some hard evidence?"

            Jeff's eyes brightened. "Ginger, I'm impressed. If you can get someone of comparable rank to notorize that--say, the Princess of Planet Arus--I'll get in touch with Hawkins. With Cyann's deposition and the Voltron Force behind us, we'll force Aldran to step down. That'll take care of Earth, at least . . ."

            "We can't think about Arus now, Jeff," Ginger said, her voice shaky but determined.. "We've got to do our part, and trust Keith and the others to do theirs."

            The control room was silent but for the incessant chirping of the central computer, as it attempted to prepare the Castle for doomsday. Koran watched the myriad of screens with exhausted, bleary eyes. He wasn't sure if it was fatigue, worry, shock, or a combination of all three, but he felt inexplicably light-headed, and it required considerable effort to focus on the data displayed before him, to focus on the dire turn their lives had taken in the space of a few hours. _And to think, I was worried that I wouldn't recall enough Garrison protocol to preside over the Voltron Conference!_

            But there was no Conference, Koran reminded himself. Everything had changed. Captain Cyann Miller had been found guilty of double agency and heaven knew what else. The servant Jed was a spy for both Aldran and Prince Lotor. Everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours--indeed, the past two years--had been an elaborate facade constructed by Space Marshal Aldran to cover a nefarious agenda of galactic proportions. Koran sighed, feeling a subtle throb commence in his temple. _Noble King Alfor, I thank the Maker that you aren't alive to see this . . ._

            The comm unit suddenly sprang to life. "Yellow Lion to Castle Control. Koran, can ya hear me?"

            Koran started out of his reverie and fumbled with a few keys. "Yes, Hunk, I hear you. Have you anything to report?"

            "I wish I did, Koran," Hunk replied, his tone slightly blurred by static caused by the distance. "There's nothin' up here but us 'n' the stars. No fleet. We found Lotor, but he's just sitting there. Not a peep from the long-range scanners, either. It's quiet, way too quiet up here."

            "The calm before the storm," supplied Pidge from the Green Lion.

            Koran sighed. "You might as well come back, then. There's no use waiting around up there. Lotor will make his move when he chooses to." 

            "Well, I wish he'd choose to make it sometime this century," grumbled Hunk. "I can't take all this suspense."

            "That just might be Lotor's idea," Pidge retorted grimly. "We'll be down in a few minutes, Koran. Green Lion out."

            Koran switched off the comm and leaned on the console with another heavy sigh. Hunk wasn't the only one being worn down by this terrible waiting; his own nerves were becoming frayed with the strain of maintaining his outward calm, a habit he'd adopted long ago for the benefit of a young princess who was then just becaming aware of the threat that hung over her father's kingdom. 

            At the thought of Princess Allura, Koran felt his jaw tighten. What kind of gods would allow so much misfortune to befall as kind and earnest a child--no, woman--as Princess Allura? Almost from the time of her father's death she had been plagued by power-mad warloads intent upon her throne--and in many cases, upon herself. Though it had been many years since Koran had served as a soldier in the Royal Guard, just thinking of the perils that the Princess had endured in her twenty-two summers--and in the past twenty-four hours--was enough to make his long-dormant blood simmer with rage. Sometimes he wondered if it would have been better if she hadn't survived the attack that killed her entire court, including her own father. . . 

            It began as a barely perceptible ache in his chest, then an answering throb in his left arm. Koran was just beginning to wonder what was wrong when, like wildfire, a red-hot flame swept through his entire body, clouding his eyes before he could even gasp at its magnitude. A dull roaring filled his ears and his hands clenched and unclenched in furious spasms as a blanket of night began to steal over him. A moment before the darkness enveloped him, his trembling lips formed a single, broken phrase: _Allura__, I'm sorry . . ._

            Five minutes later, the automatic door swooshed open. "Koran!" Jeff cried.

            "I am such an idiot!" Lance shouted to no one in particular.

            The empty room maintained an insolent silence. Insulted, Lance tried taking his aggression out on the nearest wall, causing pain which only fueled his anger. He muttered a curse or two under his breath, and, cradling his sore fist in his other hand, began to pace up and down the length of his small room. _The whole damn world's gone crazy, he thought, still reeling from the startling confession Cyann had delivered an hour ago, an explanation that had turned his world upside down. Even more disturbing was the fact that his own senses had apparently failed him; he, who'd always been able to spot a phony on sight, had been blind to the fact that his own ex-girlfriend--no, he would not even call her that anymore. She didn't deserve that much._

            It made him even angrier to think he'd let all the clues slip by, starting with Cyann's fib about working as a navigator. He'd known she lied, but he'd dismissed the incident, trusting in the knowledge that Cyann must have had a good reason. _Oh, she had a good reason all right, a persistent little voice inside his head reminded him bitterly,__a good and selfish reason!_

            "I am such a goddamned idiot!" Lance shouted again, listening to the words bounce off the walls.

            Almost immediately, there came a knock at his door. Tensing, Lance called irritably, "What?"

            "Lance, it's me," called Keith's infuriatingly calm voice.

            Lance was in no mood to hear the situation rationalized. "Go away. Hey," he objected, when Keith pushed open the door anyway, "what gives? Can't a guy get a little privacy?"

            "Not when he's intent on disturbing everyone else's by pounding the walls," Keith shot back, folding his arms. "Why don't you calm down?"

            "Calm down?" Lance repeated, raising his eyebrows angrily. "How can you expect me to calm down at a time like this?!"

            "Calm down_,_ Lance," Keith reiterated firmly. "Anger won't get you anything but sore fists."

            Lance flushed slightly.  Then he sighed, making an effort to curb his anger. Changing tactics, he said, in a more subdued tone, "I just can't believe it, Keith. How could she do it? How could she betray me--" he corrected himself, "betray us like that, after all we've been through?"

            "I wish I knew, Lance.  I'm as disappointed in her as you are. Cyann was a valuable ally."

            "She was more than that," Lance replied absently, staring at the floor. "Dammit, Keith, I didn't even see it coming. Of all the times for my own feelings to fail me--"

            Keith shook his head. "It's not your fault, Lance. None of us saw it coming."

            Lance looked up sharply. "Not even you?" His gaze was keen, and, as he had expected, he saw Keith's eyes dart away almost immediately. 

            "Do you mean to tell me," Lance continued quietly, "that in the past two years, you never once picked up on anything that might have foreshadowed something like this? I have hard time believing that, Keith."

            Keith sighed. "I'll admit to noticing a few fishy details, but I didn't like the possibility any more than you do. I never dug deeply." His expression was solemn but compassionate. "She was my friend, too, you know."

            Lance looked away. "You could have said something," he insisted gruffly, "something to put us on our guard."

            "But would you have listened?" Keith countered. "I learned a long time ago how difficult it is to tell you something you don't want to hear."

            Lance turned to meet Keith's shrewd gaze, then lowered his eyes, knowing he was beaten.  "So it comes back to me," he said sadly, massaging his aching fist. "Boy, did I learn my lesson. Never trust a woman with ambition." He gave a bitter laugh, which died abruptly when he noticed that Keith wasn't smiling.

            "We all trusted her, Lance. If you're guilty of being gullible, then so are we all. Cyann covered her tracks well, but don't forget that she betrayed herself in order to warn us about Aldran's plans. If she hadn't said anything, we'd still be in the dark. In an odd way, she's helped us."

            _Leave it to Keith to find the silver lining, Lance thought dryly. He shook his head vehemently. "I don't buy it, Keith. For all we know, that whole story could have been another one of her lies."_

            "But Jeff and Ginger backed her up on it," Keith reminded him. "And don't forget, I was around Galaxy Garrison when this was going on as well. Cyann's story made a lot of things fall into place."

            "Then why the hell did she wait until now to spill her guts? If she'd opened her mouth a few days ago, or for that matter a few years ago, we wouldn't be in this mess. I can't trust her anymore, Keith. Something like this you just don't forget."

            He thought he saw anger spark in Keith's eyes. "You can punish her all you want, Lance," he said tightly, "but remember that you won't be alone. She'll pay dearly for this. The Board of Control won't care that she repented at the last moment; only that she sided with Aldran in the first place. And even she manages to escape exile or imprisonment, she'll still lose all credibility in the eyes of the Galaxy Alliance. Can you blame her for waiting until until the last possible moment to crucify herself?"

            "She should have thought of the risks before she started working for Aldran," Lance replied coldly. "It's no use, Keith. No matter what she means to any of us, that doesn't change the fact that she betrayed us, and the Galaxy Alliance. Cyann deserves whatever she gets."

            Lightning-quick, Keith's fist connected with his jaw. He moved so fast Lance never saw it coming. He reeled, coughed, staggered back, more from surprise than from the force of the blow. "What the hell was that for?" he sputtered angrily when he had caught his breath. Sudden violence was not Keith's usual style. 

            "That was to make you realize how selfishly you're behaving," Keith spat between clenched teeth, flexing his hand. "Do you love her, Lance?"

            Lance stared at him. "What?"

            "Do you love Cyann? Because if you do, I suggest you get your head on straight and start thinking of something besides your wounded pride for once. She needs you now."

            Lance scowled, giving his best 'don't mess with me' glare. "And who the hell are you to tell me what to do? It's none of your damn business how I feel about Cyann! How dare you lecture me on behaving selfishly, after what you did!" 

            Keith's expression became guarded. "After I did what?" he repeated coldly.

            "After you abandoned Allura!"

            For a moment, neither of them spoke. Keith looked stunned, at a loss for words. Then he collected himself.

            "You don't understand, Lance."

            "The bloody hell I don't!" Lance narrowed his eyes into slits and allowed his latent fury to burst forth. "I was here! I saw how upset she was! Do you know that she stayed in her room for two whole days, crying her eyes out, eating hardly anything? And when she came out, we hardly recognized her? She loved you, goddammit, and you repaid that honor by leaving her! You don't deserve her--!" During this tirade his hands had become fists, and now he threw one of them back at Keith.

            Keith caught the fist in a grip of iron, his jaw set tightly. "You're upset, Lance, you don't know what you're saying," he said in a stiff, controlled tone that still trembled with anger. "Why don't you take a walk and try to cool off?"

            Lance wrenched himself out of Keith's grip. "I know exactly what I'm saying, Keith, and I meant what I said: you don't deserve Allura's love. I think it would have been better, for all of us," he paused, glaring at Keith with unconcealed ire, "if you'd left Arus for good."

            Lance started to turn, but not before he saw the pain flash in Keith's eyes. Squelching a stab of guilt, he whirled around--

            And saw the Princess standing in the doorway.

            Under Jeff's orders, Cyann was taken to the castle detention facility immediately following her testimony. Jed looked up at her entrance and afforded her a patronizing grin. "Come for another visit? I'm honored." He pretended to just notice the guards. "And you've brought guests!"

            Cyann ignored him, mutely allowing the guards to escort her into the cell, a pale shadow of the spitfire she had been. Normally she would have fought tooth and nail, incensed at the mere thought of being treated like a criminal; instead she was meek and indifferent. Her shoulders, once held so proudly, were slumped in uncharacteristic submissiveness. She seemed oblivious and uncaring, accepting her imprisonment with dull resignation.

            As soon as the door slammed shut behind the castle guards, Jed turned to Cyann again. "I see you finally got caught with your hand in the cookie jar. Don't act so glum; they were bound to find out about you sooner or later. Did you actually think you could double-cross Aldran behind his back--without his knowledge? Or mine?" When she made no reply, he chuckled. "Aldran's not stupid, you know. He always said your one flaw was that streak of nostalgia."

            "Still," Jed went on, challenging her proud silence, "I admire your audacity--or maybe I should say arrogance. It was a gutsy move, I'll give you that, but tell me, Cyann, what would you have done if your plan had succeeded? Toppled the evil tyrant from his bureaucratic throne? Been hailed as an intergalactic hero?  Restored peace to the universe?" Jed laughed as he leaned forward, lowering his voice to an acidic, mocking whisper. "Taken your rightful place on the Voltron Force?" 

            Cyann flinched, and Jed smirked, shaking his head. "I know you, Cyann-honey, even better than Aldran does. You're no team player; you're a solo act. You loved being captain-supreme, but you were less than thrilled with being Aldran's number two. That's why you had to strike out on your own. Who wants a piece of someone else's cake, however big?"

            Still no reply. Jed leaned against the cell wall with feigned nonchalance, making a reflective clucking noise. "And you gave it all up to make a play for an old Academy sweetheart--quite a romantic gesture, I must say. Too bad Loverboy didn't go for it."

            Cyann slapped Jed's grinning cheek, the impact echoing in the quiet cell.  Jed started laughing again when he saw the old fire blazing in Cyann's blue eyes. 

            "If you know what's good for you, Jedrel," Cyann growled, "you'll shut your arrogant trap right this minute, before I shut it for you."

            "Now that's the Cyann Miller I remember!" Jed's gaze crackled with approval. "Those flushed cheeks, those burning eyes . . . I must confess you had me worried for a while. I was convinced you'd gone soft for that pilot of yours--then again, you always were an exceptional actress--"

            "Shut up!" Cyann sprang up, fists clenched, cheeks scarlet, and flung herself at him, an animalistic snarl erupting from her throat. "Bastard!I'll kill you right here!"

            Jed caught her right fist as she swung it at him, then her left. Holding her prisoner in an unexpectedly strong grip, his amused expression melted into one of deadly seriousness. "I want to help you, Cyann," he said quietly. "If you stop fighting me, we can get out of this together. Aldran will forgive you, you'll have your power back. All you have to do is detonate that bomb."

            She froze, shock overpowering anger. "How do you know about that?"

            "Aldran told me, of course. He had doubts as to whether or not you'd have the guts to actually do it, so he gave me the detonation code in case you cracked. One of us is going to detonate that bomb, Cyann. Which of us will it be?" He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Think about it, Cyann. You can start over again, get your job back, get back that life you loved, if you just turn your back on that insipid ex-boyfriend of yours."

            "Why, you--!"

            He pulled her closer. "He deserves it, Cyann. They all do. They're fools, every one of them, holding on to a world that's left them behind. Not like you. You're a practical woman. Why chase after something you'll never get? There's nothing to be gained by joining the Voltron Force. What can they do for you? They don't give a damn about you. You betrayed them; you've shattered their trust forever. What's the use of beating your head against the wall?" Jed's breath was hot against her face. "Do it, Cyann," he whispered. "Take the plunge. What have you got to lose?"

            The Princess of Arus stood before them, fists clenched, her cerulean eyes wide with surprise and hurt. Her mouth was set in a tight, angry line; her posture was strained stiff. It was obvious that she'd heard every word.

            Speechless with surprise, Lance began to stammer. "Al--Allura, I--"

            "Princess--" Keith said at the same time.

            "Shut up," she whispered savagely, her lips trembling. "Shut up, both of you. I've heard enough. How--at a time like this--how dare you fight over something so--so stupid!"

            "Allura, it's not what you think--" Lance began.

            "Then what is it, Lance?" Allura turned her gaze on him, and Lance seemed to quail at the fury in her eyes.

            "Allura--" Keith tried again, his own tone rough.

            She ignored him. She fixed her gaze on Lance, betrayal shining in her blue eyes. "How could you say those things?"

            Lance's brow furrowed, defiant.  "It's the truth."

            "What do you know?" she countered. "You don't know everything, Lance!"

            "Dammit, Allura, I just don't want to see you get hurt!"

            "That's none of your business," she replied curtly. "It never has been. You are not my protector; I can take care of myself." She took a step forward.  "I don't ever want to hear you say those things to Keith again."

            "Allura!"

            "Never again!" the Princess cried. "That's a royal order!"

            Lance's eyes widened momentarily in utter shock, then quickly crinkled in anger. "Fine," he replied in a tone as dry and dead as a desert. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he stalked down the hall, shoulders hunched.

            Swallowing hard, the Princess turned her blue gaze on Keith.

            "Princess," Keith began again, quietly. "I--" 

            "Don't," said Allura. She had lowered her eyes. "You don't need to explain anything. Lance was angry, and he was taking it out on you."

            "Maybe he was right."

            Allura looked up at him again. "I don't want to believe that." In her eyes, anger, fear, confusion, and hurt were interwoven in a kaleidescope of emotion. She looked like a stranger, not the princess he'd loved and cherished for so long. He suddenly knew what Lance had meant about hardly recognizing her.

            A beep from Keith's wrist comm shattered the awful moment. Automatically, Keith's mind switched gears. "Keith here."

            "Koran's unconcious," Jeff's voice came back, sounding small and worried from the tiny comm unit. "I found him in the control room. It looked like he'd collapsed."

            Allura gave a tiny, sharp gasp.

            "Did you call Dr. Gorma?" Keith asked grimly.

            "First thing. We're at the med facility. I think you'd better get here fast, though."

            "On my way." Keith flicked off the comm, venturing a gaze at the Princess, whose eyes reflected his apology. Then they both began to run toward Dr. Gorma's office.

             "Think about it, Cyann," Jed purred. "What have you got to lose?" 

            Abruptly, Cyann's eyes shimmered with tears, forcing her to look away from his intense gaze. Aware that she was wavering, Jed seized the opportunity and leaned forward to press his lips against hers. She resisted at first, but his grip only tightened. He felt her tense, then pain exploded in his lower abdomen as her knee connected with the soft flesh. With a grunt, he released her.

            Cyann raked a hand defiantly across her lips as if to rub off the taint of his kiss. "Is this your idea of persuasion?" 

            "Of course not," Jed replied, between gasps that were half pain and half mirth. "That was for old times' sake." He chortled at her stunned expression. "Don't flatter yourself, Cyann. I have no interest in renewing our relationship, especially since it would serve me no gain."

            "Now that's the Jed I remember," Cyann replied harshly. "For a moment there I thought you'd grown a heart."

            An odd emotion flickered in Jed's black eyes. "I have no need of such a handicap," he retorted simply. Then he straightened, back to his normal acidic self. "So what'll it be, Cy? Soar with friends you despise, or crash down with friends who despise you?"

            "Aldran is finished," Cyann declared. "Even with you and me behind him. With Voltron in opposition, Aldran's reforms will never go through, no matter how many spies he plants, no matter how many people he bribes. It's over, Jed. However--" a slow smile spread across her face. "I've always had a soft spot for lost causes, once they're completely lost." 

            Surprise and pleasure flickered across Jed's face.

            Cyann reached into her boot and removed a small laser. "But unfortunately for you," she went on, her smile darkening, "that's a bad habit I've been meaning to break."

            Jed just shook his head, still grinning, and stood his ground. "Aldran also said you had a very stubborn streak of honor," he mused, meeting her eyes unabashedly over the laser pointed at his chest. "I never thought I'd have the pleasure of seeing it for myself."

            "Well, congratulations, it's the last thing you'll ever see. Goodbye Jed," she cocked the weapon, "and did I mention what a pleasure it was to see you again?" She fired. 

            The lock on the cell door behind him exploded in a shower of sparks. Cyann met Jed's eyes for a brief instant, then, lightning-quick, the butt of the weapon connected against his skull with a sickening crack, and Jed slumped to the floor.

            Cyann shoved his body away from the cell door with her foot, and gently pried open the smoking lock. The cell guard was silenced in a similar manner before he could do more than reach for his own weapon. Relieving him of it, Cyann tucked the tiny blaster back into her boot, set the larger laser for stun, and left the detention facility at a dash.

            "Fortunately, the stroke wasn't fatal," Dr. Gorma addressed the hushed, fearful group outside the main operating room. "He's stable, for now, but the next twenty-four hours are going to be crucial. The clot was localized in the right occipital lobe, but we won't know if there's been any permanent damage until he regains consciousness."

            "Can we see him?" Allura asked.

            The doctor nodded. "But just for a minute. He needs his rest."

            Acknowledging Dr. Gorma's order absently, Allura pushed open the door to the operating room. The others followed.

            Koran was stretched out on a cot, his upper torso raised to a semi-sitting position, looking decades older. His skin was pasty, his thick mustache hung limply on his proud upper lip. She noticed for the first time the fine wrinkles around his mouth and eyes, and the lines that spread across his slackened cheeks like gashes. He looked fragile and delicate, not the robust man who'd done his best to keep her in line all her life. Allura had to fight to swallow the huge lump of misery that caught in her throat. _What would I do without him?_

            "Why...?" Allura did not realize she'd spoken the word aloud until Sven answered her.

            "No one knows why these things happen, Princess," he said quietly, in his softly accented English. "All we can do is endure them."

            "But this wouldn't have happened if Lotor hadn't given Koran so much to worry about," Lance retorted suddenly. "If we'd killed the bastard when we had the chance, none of this would have happened."

            "No, Lance," Allura insisted, blinking away tears. "If Lotor had died, then someone else would have taken his place. Sven is right; these things happen." Her voice broke on the last word, and she felt Keith put his arm around her comfortingly. Leaning into him, Allura let herself go limp, closing her eyes tightly, willing the whole world to go away.

            Abruptly, a klaxon blared, startling everyone. Lance spat out a curse. 

            "What now?" Hunk demanded in dismay.

            "Red Alert!" called Sven.

            "Not again!" said Pidge.

            "Let's go," said Jeff.

            Allura felt Keith tense beside her. Pulling away from him, she said, "Go. I'll stay with Koran."

            He looked at her closely. "Are you sure?"

            "Go," she repeated, forcing a small smile. "I'll be okay."

            Ginger paused to give Allura a quick hug. "Everything will be okay, honey," she crooned. "Just remember, your friends are with you all the way." Flashing an encouraging smile, Ginger followed Jeff out of the med facility. Keith hung back, looking at her with concern. 

            "I'll be okay, Keith. I've got my comlink on. I--I just don't want to leave him alone."       

            Tenderly, Keith reached out to brush away a stray tear that had gone unnoticed on her cheek. "Koran will be fine, Allura. I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. He's a tough old soul."

            "Thank you," she replied sincerely, pressing a soft kiss on his lips.  "Now go be a soldier." And she gave him a gentle shove toward the door.

            "The guard said he had no idea how long he was out," Jeff was saying grimly, when Keith reached the control room. "He estimated thirty to forty minutes, maybe more."

            "Then they've had time to cause trouble," Lance replied darkly. "Our two jailbirds have flown the coop," he explained to Keith quietly.

            "Any idea where they might have gone?" asked Hunk.

            "We don't know that they're together," Sven reminded him.

            "Why wouldn't they be?" growled Lance. "They're partners in crime."

            "Didn't Cyann mention something about a bomb?" Ginger inquired uneasily.

            "They wouldn't--" Pidge began.

            "The hell they wouldn't," finished Lance, reaching for the weapon at his hip. "I'm going after them."

            Sven clamped a hand on his arm before Lance could move. "No, Lance, you're angry. Let Keith and I go. You stay here and hold down the fort until we get back."

            "No, Sven," Lance retorted vehemently. "This is something I need to do. And take your hands off me!" He shook off Sven's hold and fled from the room.

            Keith shook his head in exasperation. Lance could try his patience like nobody else. "Just what we need, another loose cannon. You and I'll stay here, Sven. Hunk and Pidge, you two go after him."

            "Right, chief," said Pidge.

            "He wouldn't do anything rash, would he?" Jeff asked incredulously.

            "You don't know Lance," Hunk shot back grimly. "Let's go, Pidge." 

            "Any twitching from His Royal Majesty up there?" Jeff asked, coming up behind Keith once Hunk and Pidge had departed. The former pilot of the Black Lion was engrossed in a steadily beeping radar screen, showing the single blot of Lotor's ship floating motionless in the blackness of space.

            "No," Keith replied pensively. "He's just hovering. I wish we knew what the hell he's waiting for."

            "Well, you could just shoot him down," Jeff suggested half-seriously. "Make it look like an accident, you know?"

            Keith gave Jeff a half-amused look. "Tempting, but I think you know that's not an option."

            "I know, I know. Technically, he hasn't provoked us. But then again, technically, Aldran's not planning a coup, either. But, Ginger and I have a plan that just might solve that little problem."

            "I'm listening."

            Lance sped down the corridor, gun in hand, fingers poised on the trigger, seething with fury. _Lying bitch he thought, wrathful beyond reason. __How dare she . . . if she thinks she can get away with something like this after all she's done . . . I'll kill her myself if I have to . . ._

            "Lance . . ."

            The voice came from behind him as he reached a junction of corridors. Lance whirled around, brandishing his laser. "Don't move!" he shouted.

            Her blue eyes wide, Cyann stood frozen in her tracks. She held a good-sized laser of her own which she let drop to the floor almost immediately, then raised her hands in surrender. She looked alarmed at his expression. "Lance, it's me," she said softly, tensing. "Don't shoot."

            His aim did not falter. "I said freeze," Lance barked curtly, taking a few steps toward her, and reaching out with a foot to kick her fallen weapon several feet away.

            "Lance," she protested. "I'm on your side. I came to warn you, I think Jed has escaped--"

            "And so have you." Lance's gaze hardened. "What a coincidence."

            Cyann looked confused for a second, then anger lit in her eyes. "Do you actually think I'm in league with that guy?" she demanded, taking another step toward him.

            He cocked his blaster. "Make another move and I'll pull the trigger. I've had it with your lies, Cyann. You may be able to convince Keith that you're on our side, but I'm not that stupid. I'm not letting you do any more harm to this castle."

            "Lance--" she began, then choked off the sentence when his finger approached the trigger. Cyann sighed and took a step back. "Look, I know what you think of me, and I'm not proud of what I've done, but you've got to listen to me now--the safety of the Castle depends on it. There's a bomb--"

            "And you were supposed to detonate it," he interrupted harshly. "I remember."

            "Don't be stupid," she snapped. "Jed knows about it. He's crazy, Lance, but there's a way we can stop him. I know how to disable it, we've just got to get to the bomb before he does."

            "And how do I know that you won't detonate it once we get there, huh? Nice try, Cyann, but I'm not that dumb. You may have fooled me once, but you're the stupid one if you think I'll fall for the same trick twice."

            Cyann's narrowed with fury. "You pig-headed jackass!" she spat. "Do you actually think this is about you? This has got nothing to do with you, or with me, or with anything that was ever between us! This is about keeping Aldran from winning--from destroying the Castle of Lions and everyone in it! If Jed detonates that bomb, you'll be defenseless when Lotor attacks. You won't be able to launch the lions or form Voltron--Aldran's intention all along!"

            Lance stared at her, something in his brain clicking. "Is that what Lotor's waiting for?" he demanded. "The detonation of that bomb?"

            "Of course, you idiot!" Cyann snapped contemptuously. "Lotor knows he doesn't stand a chance against Voltron in a fair fight. He won't make his move until you guys are vulnerable."

            _Of course, Lance's mind screamed out the logic of the plan, but his heart and his pride stubbornly resisted. __This is the same woman who's been lying to you ever since she set foot in the Castle, he reminded himself sternly.__How do you know this isn't another lie?_

            Sensing his deliberation, Cyann's anger faded. "All I need is ten minutes," she said quietly, her eyes never leaving his. "Ten minutes and the Castle is safe. After that, lock me up again if you want. Just let me do this one thing--for everyone I've hurt."

            Lance stared hard at her, jaw locked in consternation, then let his arm drop. "Ten minutes, then," he said tightly. "And you walk me through every step. Keith may have sympathy for you, but I don't."

            Cyann gave a bleak smirk. "That makes two of us."

            "Keith was okay with this?" Ginger inquired of Jeff as he handed her her flight helmet. She'd been waiting for him in the hangar bay, bags packed, in full piloting attire. The precious deposition, made official by the royal seal of Arus, was tucked safely away within the folds of her uniform. "He doesn't think we're abandoning him?"

            "He was in favor of it," Jeff replied with grim humor, as they approached their Alpha-Ones. "He said it'd make it a lot easier to concentrate on the Arusian front if he knew someone was taking care of the Earth front. And besides," he grinned at her, "I always fight better on my own territory."

            "Home court advantage," agreed Ginger. Suddenly she looked uneasy. "Can we do this, Jeff? Take on Aldran all by ourselves?"

            "Don't forget, Ginger, we've got Hawkins and the rest of our Voltron Force behind us. But most importantly, we have the truth on our side." He gave her a stern look. "Have you got it hidden in a safe place?"

            Ginger patted the chest of her flight suit. "No one will find it here."

            Jeff sent her a devious smirk. "Not even Cliff?"

            "Very funny." Turning her back on Jeff, Ginger nimbly ascended the thin rope ladder to the cockpit of her Alpha-One. A faint wave of deja vu washed over her as she settled herself into the pilot seat. She found it very hard to believe that, just a few days ago, she'd boarded this very ship at the Calthyn Spaceport, on her way to the Leonian System, and the alleged Voltron Conference. _None of us had a clue of what we'd really find on Planet Arus._

            "Hey, Ginger," came Jeff's voice over the two-way comm between their ships, "are you just going sit there, or are you going to kick some bureaucratic butt with me?"

            Ginger couldn't help grinning at his eagerness. Her commander was always in the mood for a good confrontation. "Save the wit for Aldran, Jeff," she replied cheekily. "He's going to need a good laugh when we get through with him."

            ~Earth~

            The small communit on Space Marshal Aldran's belt gave a shrill beep, shattering the silence of the dimly-lit conference room. Automatically, every head on the Board of Control turned in Aldran's direction. Somewhat self-consciously, Aldran reached for the device, intending to answer it, but into doing so he caught the eye of Commander Hawkins. The penetrating gaze of his junior officer caused the usually austere Space Marshal to hesitate. Perhaps this wasn't the best time to take a personal call . . . 

            The pager emitted another insistent beep, followed by two shorter pulses, indicating a long-distance message. Aldran tensed, then, smiling ruefully at the uniformed officers sitting around the table in various stages of consternation, he cleared his throat. "Perhaps it's time for a break, gentlemen?"

            "Perhaps it is," said General Kruger, frowning. "You've given us a lot to think about."

            Aldran inclined his head respectfully. "We'll break for ten minutes, then. And," he added, waving a finger, "perhaps we'll have another try at voting, eh?"

            "We'll discuss it, sir," said Commander Hawkins, respectfully but with a hint of contempt, "but don't expect a miracle."

            Aldran sent him an indulgent smile. "I don't believe in miracles, Commander, only in results."

            "Aldran here."

            "The deal is off," rasped a familiar, arrogant voice, resonating with pain. 

            "Prince Lotor!" Aldran was taken aback. "What the devil are you talking about? Where are you? We agreed--"

            "I've had enough of your agreements, Aldran," Lotor growled. "Your plans have fallen through. The deal's off."

            "Your Majesty, I beg you to be reasonable," Aldran cajoled. "As soon as I secure this vote, I'll see to it that you get what you deserve."

            Lotor laughed harshly. "Spare me your politicking, Aldran, I'm not one of your Garrison lackeys. I've waited long enough, now I'm taking matters into my own hands."

            "Prince Lotor, wait--" Aldran let out a curse as the connection was broken. This had to happen now, in the final minutes . . . when he was so close . . . "Damn!"

            "Space Marshal?"

            Aldran jerked out of his reverie to see the sentry regarding him solemnly from the doorway. "The Board has reassembled, sir."

            "Yes, thank you, lieutenant." Aldran shoved the unpleasant thoughts out of his mind. None of this would matter in a few minutes, he told himself firmly, as he reentered the conference room to greet the stern faces of the Board of Control. "Well, gentlemen, have we come to a decision?"

            "We have, Space Marshal," said General Kruger, rising from his seat. "We have decided to accept your reforms--"

            Aldran's smile widened. "I'm delighted to hear that, gentlemen--"

            "On one condition," Kruger continued sharply. "If we don't see positive results across the Alliance in six months, these reforms will be nullified and this vote will be stricken from the record."

            Aldran's brow creased. "But six months is hardly enough time to yield results of that magnitude, General--"

            "On the contrary, Marshal," interrupted General Colvin, a balding man of sixty. "Your reforms are quite revolutionary, so it is only natural that we expect to see revolutionary results."

            There was a murmur of assent from the rest of the officers. Knowing he was cornered, Aldran nodded. "Very well, you are being quite fair, gentlemen. I warn you, though, the time limit will necessitate some drastic diplomatic modifications which I had hoped would be more gradual."

            "We're willing to take that chance, Marshal," said Hawkins steadily, his arms folded, "provided that these 'diplomatic modifications' do not necessitate any activity that goes against the code of the Galaxy Alliance."

            Aldran puffed up slightly at the insult. "What I do, I do for the future of the Alliance. You may not approve of my methods, Commander Hawkins, but in six months even you will acknowledge the necessity of these reforms when you see a new, stronger, more united Galaxy Alliance. But rest assured gentlemen," he added, lips curling into a benevolent smile. "Even I would not stoop to comprise the honor of this confederation--even if it would yield the kind of results all of you would like to see. Good afternoon, gentlemen." He rose proudly and exited the room, his sentry obediently following.

            "It was foolhardy to tweak him like that, Hawkins," the olive-skinned General Quillan said, tone resonating with disapproval. "It isn't wise to make an enemy of Aldran."

            "On the contrary, sir, I think it's just the shove he needs to betray his true self," Hawkins answered. "You heard him, he all but admitted to using illegal methods to secure the solidarity of the Alliance. All we need to do is push him a little farther, and we'll have him cornered."

            "This obsession with discrediting the Space Marshal is getting quite out of hand," Kruger said severely. "I don't like the tone of his reforms any more than you do, but the results we've already seen of Aldran's leadership have been very good. There hasn't been a Drule attack on an Alliance planet for more than two years, fifteen planets have joined the Alliance in the last year, and Aldran has sliced our energy defecit in half by cutting down on warp missions. Face it, Hawkins, whether you approve of his methods or not, Aldran has worked wonders for this Alliance since he took command three years ago."

            "At the expense of the morals upon which the alliance was founded," Hawkins retorted. "I have a hard time welcoming results begotten by the exploitation of others."

            "You may believe that, Commander, but as far as Galaxy Garrison--and the rest of us--are concerned, Aldran has done nothing but accomplish a great deal in a short amount of time. And he has quite a few powerful allies. To slander him now could stir up more trouble than we can afford. Therefore I suggest that you keep your opinion to yourself until you can give us concrete proof of a conspiracy."

            "I intend to, sir," Hawkins said firmly. He saluted and left the board room, thinking hard.  Aldran's reforms would bear the official signatures of the members of the Galaxy Garrison Board of Control within the hour, and, if Aldran chose--which he certainly would--the new policies could take effect the very next day. Hawkins hoped that Jeff and Ginger could get back in time with the information that provided proof of Aldran's illicit alliance with the Drule Empire. Meanwhile, he had to gather support, get in touch with the rest of the Voltron Force, before Aldran--

            "Commander Hawkins, may I have a word with you?"

            Hawkins froze mid-stride, recognizing the voice with chagrin. Composing himself, he turned and saluted respectfully. "Yes, Space Marshal, what is it?"

            Aldran gave him an all-too-pleasant smile. "I have new orders for you, Commander. Since my new policies restrict the number of ESA(=Extra-Solar-Assistance) missions, some of our more expensive inter-system squadrons are going to be downsized to save energy and credits."

            "What do you mean, sir?"

            "Galaxy Garrison can no longer afford to support the Voltron robots. Not only will they no longer be necessary under the new reforms, but they are expensive to maintain and a waste of talented pilots." Ignoring Hawkins' gasp of dismay, Aldran continued, complacently. "Galaxy Garrison feels that you and the Voltron pilots would be more useful--and a lot happier--in the Allied Planets Space Force, defending our beloved Planet Earth."

            "You can't mean--!"

            Aldran shoved a folder into Hawkins' stupefied hands. "Here are new assignments for you and the fifteen pilots under your command, which you are to serve immediately. As of midnight tonight, Commander Hawkins, the Voltron Force is disbanded."

--Arus--

            Cyann knew they were too late before they even reached her room. It wasn't so much a premonition as much as simple logic. She'd dallied far too long trying to convince Lance that she was innocent. _A lot of good that did, she thought sarcastically. __I should have just knocked him out; then maybe I'd have had time to intercept Jed and get that bomb away from him._

            She knew Lance would take it badly. Whatever trust in her that her words had restored in Lance would crumble when he discovered they were on a wild goose chase. _He's already on edge, she thought gloomily. __This just might push him over. I'd better think fast._

            She didn't have to think long. Cyann and Lance had just turned the corner toward the south wing when the explosion knocked them both to the floor.

            At first, Pidge thought he had imagined the dull rumble that seemed to originate from the bowels of the Castle. But when the ground trembled beneath his feet, plunging the hallway into darkness and causing him to stumble into Hunk, Pidge realized what had happened. 

            "What the--" he heard Hunk exclaim. Then, in dismay, he added, "Oh, man, tell me that wasn't what I thought it was."

            "I would if I could," Pidge retorted, feeling around for the wall to recover his bearings. The hallway was lit by a faint red glow, emanating from the small, generator-powered lighting system designed for just such an emergency. Pidge blinked as his eyes adjusted to the relative darkness. 

            "Damn, he actually detonated that thing." Hunk was now a discernable silouette. "Now what do we do?"

            "You keep looking for Lance," replied Pidge grimly. "I'm going back to the control room to assess the damage."

            "He'll be a lot harder to find in this dark."

            "The only thing worse than a loose cannon with a gun is a loose cannon with a gun in the dark," was Pidge's reply. "Keep your comlink on, and your eyes peeled. I'll be in touch." 

            Allura awoke with a start, her heart in her throat, to feel the floor shaking beneath her feet. The room was completely dark. She felt a brief stab of disorientation, then remembered where she was: in the operating room of the med facility, sitting vigil with the fallen Koran. She fumbled blindly for the comlink in the pocket of her uniform. Finding it, she activated it by touch and spoke into it. "Keith? Lance? It's Allura. Is anyone there?"

            Keith's voice came back, sounding strangely vibrant in the unnatural, total silence. "I hear you, Princess. Are you all right?"

            "I'm fine, but what happened to the lights?"

            There was a slight pause. "Something's happened to the main power system. We've lost all automatic operating systems, including peripheral and manual surveillance and defense. We're running on the bare-bone emergency backup system, which only includes the most basic manual functions and programs."

            "A power outage?"

            "I'm afraid it looks more like sabotage, Princess."

            "Sabotage?" Allura's brain was reeling. "Oh, my god, you mean the bomb Cyann mentioned?"

            "It looks that way. But we can discuss that later," Keith replied. "Right now, I need to know if there are any backup systems for the Castle computers."

            "Yes, of course," Allura attempted to calm her roiling thoughts, "but they require a special access code that only Koran and I--" the words died on her lips. All automatic operating systems, she realized in horror. Including life support.

            Allura's eyes flew to the still figure on the cot, blood rushing loudly in her ears. Forgetting about Keith, she numbly searched for any sign of life in Koran's inert body, hooked up to several machines which, only moments ago, had audibly assured her of his stable condition. Now they were cruelly silent, their screens empty and unfeeling. Allura grasped for Koran's thin wrist, feeling for a pulse, and let her breath out with a whoosh at the faint palpitation of life she felt flowing through his veins. He was alive, but there was no telling how long he would remain that way without the benefit of life support. 

            Keith's worried voice via the comlink jolted Allura out of her stupor. "Allura! Princess! Are you there?"

            Taking a deep breath to slow her galloping heartbeat, Allura raised the comlink to her lips. "I'm here, Keith, sorry. I remembered--Koran."

            She heard him suck in his breath. "Is he--?"

            "He's alive, but all the life support systems are dea--I mean, not functioning." An icy-hot shiver shuddered down her spine. Allura swallowed hard, trying to remember what Keith had said about the damage to the control room. "There's no way to boot up the backup operating system with out a specialized access code."

            "Can you tell it to me?"

            "No, for security reasons, it's set up so that only Koran or I can activate it. The initialization process requires fingerprints, plus passwords and user information known only to the Royal House of Arus."

            "How soon can you get here?"

            "Just let me find Dr. Gorma; I can't leave Koran alone, and Dr. Gorma may be able to do something. I'll come to the control room as soon as I can."

            "All right, I'll be here. Keith out."

            The blast had been close, Lance thought dimly, laying on the ground, stunned, his ears ringing from the noise. They must be quite near where it had gone off. He scrambled to his feet, feeling for his blaster, and squinted to see by the weak red emergency lights that ran along the top of the hallway walls. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was turning the corner, they had been heading for Cyann's room--

            Cyann.

            "Damn!" Lance spat, suddenly realizing that he was alone. "Cyann!" he called into the darkness, while knowing it was futile. She'd probably high-tailed it out of there as soon as the lights went out, like the criminal she was. Lance berated himself again for forgetting that she was no longer the woman he knew. In a flash he realized that she had probably been leading him on a wild goose chase, to distract him from what that rat Jed was up to. She'd said the bomb was in her room, in the south wing of the castle, but that blast had come from much closer, probably nearby. Lance punched his wrist-com, bring up a map of the castle, with his coordinates relative to the control room. (The Castle of Lions was huge, and easy to get lost in. Thus, all military personnel in the Castle wore wrist-coms programmed with a map of the Castle, so they could pinpoint their location wherever they were, so others were know where to find them if they were in need of aid). 

            Lance was in sector E1-A, near the engineering room. That had to have been where the blast came from. He shuddered to think of what kind of damage could have been done with a blast like that. He thought about reporting back to the others, but then realized it was more important to find Cyann, as he'd set out to do. _But I can't find her if I can't see her. Engineering room, huh?_

            Lance walked the length of the corridor, keeping his blaster cocked just in case. Sure, enough, there was the door to the Engineering facility. He blasted the lock open and felt around for the emergency kit that should have been on the wall just inside the door. Moments later, he was in possession of a small flashlight, the perfect size for doing minute electronic work inside a dark engine. He flicked it on, and a small circle of light showed him the empty hallway. He walked a few feet down the hallway, shining the light left and right, then noticed that there was a thick cloud of dust--he could see the particles dancing in the beam of the flashlight--emanating from the corridor to the right. _That must be near the blast sight. I'd better check it out._

            Lance turned right down the dusty hallway. 

            Keith, Sven and Pidge were waiting for Allura in the control room, along with a thoroughly anxious Nanny. "Okay, let's hear it," she said grimly.

            "There was a detonation in generator two," replied Sven, posted at one of the emergency terminals. "One of the main power generators."

            "Oh, no," Allura moaned, feeling the beginnings of a migraine pulse in her temple.

            "What about the others?" Pidge asked. "There are three more, right?"

            "Each of the four generators is wired to the others," Allura answered. "In the advent of a power failure in one of the generators, it will be able to draw power from another, so we can still run as many operations as possible, even under low power. However, for security reasons, one of the generators must serve as the primary power source, and unfortunately that is CG-2."

            "So we've got nothing?" Pidge said in dismay.

            "The emergency power will last a few more hours," the Princess replied. "By then we should be able to repair the damage."

            Keith asked the question they were all thinking. "What defense systems are online?"

            There was a brief pause while Allura moved to the keyboard, entered her special access code, and requested the information. Then she sighed, and their hearts sank. "Nothing," Allura whispered. 

            "Not even the manuals?" Keith pressed.

            She shook her head. "The manuals need at least low power to create enough energy to do significant damage to whatever we're shooting at."

            "Where are we now?" asked Sven.

            "At our current power level, the energy of the shots would be absorbed by the target," Allura said quietly. "We are defenseless."

            "Well," said Pidge after a moment. "Cyann must have done their homework; she knew exactly where to put that bomb."

            "We don't know it was Cyann," Keith reminded him. "Jed's still unaccounted for."

            "Now there's a reassuring thought."

            "How long until we can get up to low power?" Keith asked.

            Allura considered a moment. "I estimate a few hours, depending on how much the rest of the generators were damaged by the blast."

            "That doesn't give us much time. Pidge," Keith addressed the younger man, "do you think you can do anything if we open up the circuit board to the main computer?"

            "You mean like, hot-wire the thing? Maybe," the young man said thoughtfully. "I'll need tools, though, and Hunk to help me. But he's still looking for Lance."

            "Well, see what you can do until he gets back. We've got to find a way to get some power, and fast."

            "Yes, sir," Pidge saluted. "Just lemme at that old circuitboard."

            Breathing hard but smirking triumphantly, Jed slowed his fast pace to catch his breath once he was safely out of the generator facility. _Aldran__ would __have been proud, he thought, fighting the urge to chuckle with satisfaction. He looked up to scan the walls with a keen eye, then reached up and deftly removed a nanotransmitter that had gone unnoticed by the castle staff. He flicked it on. "Prince Lo--"_

            Something fizzed in the air, and suddenly Jed's hand was burning. With a harsh cry, the transmitter slipped through his fingers. Jed clasped the injured hand in the other, snarling, and looked for his attacker.

            "You son of a bitch," Cyann rasped, her aim still trained on him. "Do you think I'm going to let you do any more damage to this castle?" She fired again, scoring a hit in his side.

            "You're too late," he gasped, pain rendering him slightly out of breath.  "The Castle of Lions is defenseless."

            "You don't know the Voltron Force. They'll find a way. You failed, Jed."

            Another blast, another hit. Jed groaned and slumped against the wall, hissing at the pain. But his cold eyes remained fixed on Cyann.  "Go ahead, kill me. My job is finished." He gave a painful smirk. "You do realize, though, that if they come here and find me dead, you might have some explaining to do."

            "As if anyone would miss you," she spat. "I'm going to make up for the mistake I made in helping you all those years ago." She cocked the weapon, meeting his stare frostily.

            "Freeze!" shouted a new voice.

~Nearing Earth~

            Jeff glanced at the chronometer in the cockpit of his Alpha-One. "We'll make it, Ginger."

            "Are you sure?" Ginger's worry traveled easily over the two-way radio. "I know we're close, but Hawkins said we had to get back to GG by midnight, or we might as well turn around and take our chances with Lotor back on Arus."

            "We've got twenty minutes," Jeff replied, "and we've been on their radar screens for almost forty-five minutes. We're in the home stretch."

            "Jeffrey Castle!" Ginger's indignant image appeared on his vidcom. "Forty-five minutes?! How dare you not inform me when you made first radar contact?"

            Jeff chuckled at the fury on her face. "You haven't missed anything interesting. Just a couple of guys exchanging course plots and coordinates, with some occasional locker room humor."

            "I know what you're doing," Ginger retorted, "trying to take my mind off what's going on by making stupid jokes. It won't work." Ginger was trying sound stern, but from the way she immediately broke visual contact, Jeff knew that she must be smiling in spite of herself, and didn't want to admit it. 

            "You could have patched yourself in at anytime, you know."

            "And breached protocol in the presence of a senior officer--one who'd never let me hear the end of it? No, thank you, I'd sooner enjoy my ignorant bliss."

            "Fair enough." Jeff adopted a more serious tone. "You know, I'm just as worried as you are, Ginger. This is so big, I'm amazed we haven't run into any delays yet."

            "Don't you dare jinx us, Jeff!" Ginger admonished, switching her visual comm back on for emphasis. "Let's leave well enough alone."

            Something beeped, followed by a burst of static, then a voice came on. "This is Galaxy Garrison, Earthbase, Operator 24323-HG speaking. We have on our primary screens now. Please identify yourself."

            After patching Ginger into the comm so she could participate, Jeff responded, "This is Captain Jeff Castle, Commander of Voltron of the Near Universe, on my way back from a-- diplomatic conference--" he swallowed hard over the words, "on Planet Arus, Leonian System, Azure Quadrant, Diamond Galaxy, reporting back to headquarters, sir."

            "And this is Lieutenant Commander Ginger Cameron, also of the Voltron Force, Air Team, also reporting back to headquarters, sir."

            There was a brief pause while the operator checked their names in the database. "Okay, welcome back, Commander, Lieutenant. Our hangars are a bit full now, would you mind slowing your pace or widening your course until we clear out a bit?"

            "Negative on that, Operator, we've got a deadline. Can't you find a place to stash us, even for a little while? A wide open field will do just fine."

            "I'll do my best, Commander," the operator replied, apparently not allowed a sense of humor, "but with these new restrictions, I'm hard-pressed to find a...suitable place for you to dock."

            _You mean a 'legal' place Jeff thought dryly. __Great, Aldran's paranoid reforms are already being loaded into the computers. We're lucky to get within a light year of Earth if they've already taken effect with the radar monitoring system. Dammit, we're just too close! _

"I understand, Operator," he continued aloud, "but I can't stress the importance of our mission enough." An idea had suddenly occurred to him. "We're under Code 3 orders from Commander Hawkins to dock before midnight."

            "I see. Please remain on a steady course, Commander, and I'll check our capacity again."

            "Good one, Jeff," Ginger whispered over their private line, "provided he doesn't want the priority code for those phony orders."

            "Hawkins will back us up," Jeff replied confidently.

            A moment later, the namless operator came back on with the coordinates for their approach, descent, and docking site. "It might be tight for two Alpha-Ones, Commander," the man apologized, "but under the circumstances---"

            "That'll be fine, Operator," Jeff interrupted, "thank you. And could you get us on a tight line to Commander James Hawkins of the Voltron Force?"

            "Certainly, Commander. Just a moment."

            A few seconds later, Hawkins' voice came over the wire.

            "Jeff, I hope you're closer than you sound."

            "Good--" Jeff had to think for a moment, "evening, Commander Hawkins."

            "How soon can you be down here?"

            "Don't worry, Commander," Ginger answered for him. "We've just passed the primary scanners."

            "Yeah, we're so close, I can see my house, Hawkins," Jeff added. "And as long as Aldran hasn't devised any pre-show festivities, we should be just in time to deliver his reality check." He chuckled as Ginger groaned again and patched herself out.

~Arus~

            The sound of Lance's voice stopped both Cyann and Jed cold. Cyann turned automatically and flinched as a small stab of light momentarily blinded her. When her vision recovered she saw that Lance held a small flashlight in his left hand, and his blaster in his right. She gulped, expecting to see the weapon pointed at her, but instead Lance stood beside her, aiming for Jed. 

            At that moment, Jed lunged toward her, wresting her own weapon away from her. Cyann snarled in anger and fear as they struggle.d.  She almost screamed when she felt another hand grabbing her, shoving her to the floor.

            "You keep your hands off her," Lance growled, launching himself at Jed. She watched them wrestling, heard Jed laughing, Lance grunting, and saw her blaster in Jed's hands. 

            Her heart chilled as Jed managed to knock Lance to the floor, causing him to drop his weapon.  _No..._ she thought and made a desperate grab for the precious blaster, but she was too late.

            Cyann and Lance struggled to their feet, never taking their eyes off Jed, who held a blaster in each hand. With his left he aimed at Cyann, with his right he aimed at Lance. Slowly, never taking his eyes off Jed, Lance moved himself in front of Cyann, spreading his arms in a gesture of surrender.

            And then Jed smiled, retracted his arms, and placed both barrels to his head.

            Cyann closed her eyes as Jed fired.

            Hunk was just turning a corner in the darkened corridor when he heard the shot. Instinctively he flattened himself against the wall, his weapon raised, ready to fire, listening for a second shot. When it didn't come, Hunk cautiously peeked around the corner. No one was there. The shot had sounded close, apparently coming from the corridor to his right. Setting his blaster for stun, he began to jog toward where he'd heard the sound. As he turned the second corner, his senses told him he was on the right track. His skin registered the increase in temperature temporarily generated by the firing of a laser in an enclosed space. And his nostrils caught the faint whiff of . . . Hunk muttered a curse before he could complete that thought, and put on an extra burst of speed, for once grateful to the workouts he was subjected to almost daily.  

            The first thing he saw made him fear the worst. There was a body on the floor, and two people standing beside it. "Nobody move!" Hunk bellowed.

            One of the figures whirled, and a thin, bright beam of light made Hunk blink. "Who's there?" 

            Hunk squinted. "Lance, is that you?"

            "Yeah, it's me," said Lance's voice, and the flashlight was lowered away from Hunk's eyes. He saw that the second figure was Cyann.

            "What happened?"Hunk asked, taking in their ashen complexions.

            Lance shone the flashlight on the body.

            "Oh, my God," said Hunk, turning away from the sight. "Which one of you killed him?"

            "Neither of us," Cyann rasped, getting to her feet clumsily. She swayed on her feet, and Lance reached out to steady her.

            "You okay?" he asked, his anger forgotten.

            "Oh, I'm great, just great," she snapped, her voice shaking. Then her face seemed to crumple, and she started to cry. Lance touched her shoulder gingerly, but she shook him off, sinking back to the floor, her hands over her face.

            Suddenly, the lights in the hallway flickered on, then off again. "Hey, Pidge must've been able to get something going in the control room," Hunk said. "We should get back there."

            Lance nodded. 

            Cyann raised her head, sniffling and clearly struggling to get control of her emotions again. "What about--"

            "Leave him," Lance replied gruffly. "We've got more important things to clean up."

            When Lance, Cyann, and Hunk arrived back at the control room, there was a large hole in the main console. Pidge could be seen inside it, apparently fiddling with wires. "How's this?"

            Allura typed something into the keyboard, and shook her head. "Still nothing."

            "Jed's dead," Lance announced flatly.

            Keith's head snapped around, taking in Cyann's red, puffy face and Lance's bruises in a single glance. "Did you--"

            "He was kind enough to perform that service for us," Cyann supplied curtly. 

            "He killed himself?" Sven breathed in horror. 

            "What better way to get off scot free?"

            "Never mind that," Lance snapped. "Any luck with the power?"

            "Pidge is working on it," Allura said.

            The lights flickered again, and Pidge cried out in pain as a flurry of sparks erupted from the hole. 

            "Pidge!" Hunk called in alarm.

            "I'm okay," they heard him mutter between clenched teeth. And then the lights came on, and stayed on. 

            "All right, Pidge!" Hunk called out, extending a hand to help the smaller man out of the dangerous crevice. 

            Pidge's hair was more unruly than usual, but he wore a look of tired satisfaction. Then he sneezed. "When was the last time Nanny dusted in there?" he joked.

            "Thank you, Pidge," Allura said, typing her codes into the computer once more. "Now I think I can actually get it to boot up. We might even get the manuals powered up in time--"

            A thunderous blast shook the vulnerable Castle's walls. Everyone met each other's eyes in horror.

            "Allura, the viewscreen--" Keith began.

            "Just a second," she replied, typing furiously. The large screen sputtered to life, showing them exactly what they had feared.

            Lotor's face, scarred and livid with rage, mouthing words they could not hear.

            A moment later, Allura was able to patch in the audio. There was a burst of static, then the all-too-familiar voice echoed throughout the unusually silent control room.

            "--last chance. Single combat, Keith and I, his ship and mine, or I will destroy the Castle of Lions." 

            Keith grabbed the microphone. "What are you talking about? What do you want?"

            Lotor's image smiled. "The same thing you do, my friend--to settle things between us once and for all. This is your chance to save your friends--and the woman you love." He spat out the words. "I know the Castle is defenseless. If you do not agree to meet me, I will open fire before you can repair your defenses--and that should take at least a few hours, if I have reckoned correctly. Now may I have your answer, Keith?"

            "You already know my answer," Keith barked, glaring at Lotor. "But give me an hour. There are some things I need to take care of first."

            "And give you time to patch your defense systems? No, I think not. I'm tired of waiting, Keith. If you're not in the air in fifteen minutes, the deal is off and I destroy your Castle with you in it." And he fired again.

            The castle rocked, and the viewscreen scrambled and went to black. The room became eerily silent, tension making it hard to breathe. Keith stood motionless, staring at the blank screen with unseeing eyes. Allura had her hands pressed to her forehead, her lips moving in words no one could hear, a denial, a prayer. Everyone else seemed frozen in place.

            Lance shattered the silence first, as usual, by picking up a tool of Pidge's and hurling it across the room, where it slammed into the metal walls and made a huge clatter that shook everyone out of their stupor.

            "God damn it!" the red lion pilot roared. "What the hell have we done wrong? Why is he winning?!"

            "We couldn't have known, Lance," Sven said, forever calm, even though his face was pale and drawn. 

            "No thanks to me," Cyann murmured, closing her eyes. "This is all my fault."

            "No!"

            All eyes on the Princess, who was staring at Cyann. "No!" Allura repeated, her voice firm but with a shrill timbre to it. "You're a victim too, you got sucked in just like we did. Do not ever blame yourself for what was going to happen any--"

            At that moment she stopped, surprised by the words. Keith had turned his head and was looking at her. Allura looked back at him, her blue eyes widening first in disbelief, then horror, then . . . they relaxed, and she blinked away tears.

            Ten minutes...

            It was all they had.

            All they might ever have in this world.

            The look in Keith's eyes spoke all the pain she felt, and then some. Most painful of all was the flicker of futility. 

             _No . . . not when we've just . . . just a little more time . . ._

            "There's no more time," he said quietly, in answer to thoughts that must have been visible on her face. "I have to go." That he sounded so calm made it worse.

            "Keith." Sven walked toward his old friend, the same horrified acceptance in every movement. He knew, too, that Keith had no choice. None of them had any choice. This was how it would be. 

             "Be careful," was all Sven said.

            They all felt it then, the searing inevitability of it all. Pidge, Hunk and Lance all shared grim glances. Sven held Keith's gaze a moment longer, then dropped his eyes, unable to look any further at the destiny on his friend's face. Cyann's face had gone bone white, along with her lips; she looked as though she stared down death as well. 

            "I'll go with you to your ship," Allura said, swallowing hard over the lump in her throat.

            Keith nodded. Without meeting anyone's eyes, their former captain turned and began to walk purposefully toward the exit, his long stride not the least bit diminished by the weight of what he was about to do. Allura made to follow, then stopped and looked at Lance. 

            "Will you...watch Koran?"

            Lance's own eyes were red with misery and frustration. "Of course," he answered, not bothering to check the breaks in his voice. Allura thanked him with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

            They did not speak on the way to the hangar. There were no words for this. The air had a heavy stillness, a strangeness that felt like a thick fog. Allura did not feel as though she were truly there; surely she was still in bed, dozing as she slowly returned to wakefulness, that was why the edges seemed blurred, why nothing seemed real . . .

            They arrived at the Alpha One so quickly she felt sure they must have teleported. The air in the nearly empty bay seemed to have a voice of its own. It sang to her, like a rushing of blood in her ears.

            _This isn't happening . . .  The tiny voice was so soft she ignored it easily._

            Keith was beside her, pulling on his flight suit coveralls over his short-sleeved shirt and pants, zipping it up with his own easy grace. She watched him as he walked over to the shelf, where a row of helmets lay, selected one and returned to her side. They looked each other in the eyes.

            Allura's lips were dry. _Act normal, she admonished herself. __Everything will be fine. She opened her mouth to tell him to be careful--_

            "Don't say it," he said as her lips parted. His voice was easy and light, relaxed, as if he were just going out for a quick spin. "It's bad luck , you know."

            "What should I say, then?" she said finally. 

            "Nothing at all. You don't need to. One captain to another," he inclined his head, "everything is instinct."

            She looked up at him, her cerulean eyes confused. "What are you talking about?"

            And then he smiled. "You can do it, Allura. Deep down I always knew you had it in you." Never taking his eyes off hers, he slipped something into her pocket. When she started to look down, he placed his fingers under her chin and tilted it up so his lips could meet hers.   The kiss broke something deep within her; when they drew apart, she had to struggle not to let it show on her face. Instead, she said, "I won't wish you luck, then, either. I know that much."

            _Just come home safe to me._

            He smiled again. But for the first time ever, she could see it was a mask. Something was breaking through; she couldn't let that happen. She smiled back, determinedly, "How about, 'just bring that piece of junk back in one piece, hotshot'?"

            His smile widened, showing flawless white teeth. "Perfect. I'll see you later, then."

            She knew the answer this time, too. "Yes," she replied. "Later."

            He nodded again and turned away to climb the ladder into the cockpit. Allura stood back, arms at her sides, watching him. She stayed until the ship had left the hangar, then turned and started the long walk back to the control room.

            She was halfway there when the Castle shook.

~Galaxy Garrison, Earth~

            Hawkins was waiting for them in the hangar, his face grey and lined. As Jeff and Ginger approached, he called out, too impatient to wait for them to speak.

            "Do you have it?"

            "Right here!" Ginger called, removing the envelope from her pocket. "Signed and sealed, and waiting to nail Aldran's ass to the wall."

            "How much time have we got, Hawkins?" Jeff asked as they exited the bay.

            "A negative amount. Aldran jumped the gun on us." Hawkins handed Jeff a thin folder, Aldran's brief detailing the reassignments of the members of the Voltron Force. "But if we can get a few of the Board members to view and notorize this, they can vote to remove him. It has to be unanimous, however."

            "No problem," Ginger said. "Cyann didn't hold anything back. This thing is so hot I'm surprised it hasn't melted. When the Board gets a load of this, they'll boot the bastard out so fast he won't have time to wonder what hit him!"

            "Is it just me," Jeff teased, "or are you enjoying this, too?"

            "Speaking of Captain Miller," Hawkins began delicately, to curb their mirth, "you both know that, despite her deposition, she'll still have to stand trial for conspiracy, among other things."

            "Yeah, but they'll take this into account when they sentence her, right?" Ginger's confidence was boundless. "She did the right thing in the end."

            Hawkins and Jeff exchanged a look that made it clear they did not share such a sunny view. There was a brief silence, then Jeff asked, "Who should we start with, Commander?"

            "General Kruger is the most senior member; he'd be the best place to start, that is, if he's still in his office."

            "Hell, I'd be willing to shake him out of bed for this," Jeff cracked. "News this good you have to spread around! Let's do it."

            General Kruger was just leaving his office when the trio came barrelling down the hall. The white-haired General looked up in surprise as Jeff called out, "Here's your proof, General!"

            Kruger ignored Jeff. "Commander Hawkins, what is the meaning of this? It's after midnight--"

            "I'm sorry, General," Hawkins interrupted, "but this was too important to wait. We have a signed depostion from Aldran's chief aide, Captain Cyann Miller, proving he made deals with the Drule Empire in exchange for peace in the Near Universe."

            "What's all this?" came another voice. Space Marshal Aldran came striding down the hall, an amused smile on his face.

            "It's over, Aldran!" Jeff burst out, his anger boiling over. "We know all about your plans! We've got it all right here!" He grabbed the deposition away from Ginger and brandished it at Aldran.

            "Captain Castle!" Kruger barked. "You will salute and address the Space Marshal properly!"

            Jeff gritted his teeth and performed a stingy salute. "With all due respect, Space Marshal," his tone dripped with sarcasm, "we have come across concrete evidence linking you with the Drule Empire. We believe the Board of Directors has the right to view it."

            "And what, precisely, is this 'concrete evidence' you have?" Aldran's gray eyes were steely and hard, but his expression was still relaxed.

            Ginger seized the brief back from Jeff. "Cyann Miller provided this deposition detailing exactly how--and how long ago--you made a deal with both Admiral Throk of the Drule Empire and Prince Lotor of Planet Doom, promising--now how did you put it--certain courtesies if they agreed to leave your precious core of of Alliance planets alone for the time being."

            "Prince Lotor is dead," Aldran replied. "We all know that. His planet was destroyed three years ago, and him with it."

            "That's what you made us think, but you knew damn well that he survived--your spies are famous for being thorough," Jeff spat. "You couldn't afford to assume him dead, not with what he had on you."

            "Captain Castle, this is--" Kruger broke in, but Jeff cut him off.

            "I'm sorry, General, but I've got to say this now, before Aldran can think of a way to lie himself out of it. Aldran recalled Captain Keith Silver of the Voltron Force to headquarters three years ago, seemingly because he was no longer needed on Arus--but actually because he'd made a deal with Prince Lotor to leave Arus vulnerable and easy to conquer. In exchange, Lotor agreed to keep his paws off the rest of the Alliance planets. But then Planet Doom was destroyed--the perfect excuse for you to cover your tracks. But Lotor survived, and got in touch with you. And he still wanted what you had promised him."

            "This is ridiculous," Kruger scoffed.

            "It may seem so, General," Hawkins said, "but Captain Miller has always been one of our finest officers. She has no reason to lie--"

            "On the contrary, Commander," Aldran broke in, "Captain Miller was discharged from my services some time ago, against her wishes. She has every reason to want to slander me now. Especially--"

            "Regardless of whether or not is still in your service," Hawkins continued, "the fact remains that she has been your aide for the past five years. She was in precisely the position to observe your actions--including those you did not inform the Board about. She has no history of duplicity--"

            "If you'd let me get a word in edgewise, Hawkins," Aldran broke in, a dangerous glint in his slate-blue eyes. "I could tell you the reason Captain Miller was discharged from my services: she betrayed my trust. She had formed a sort of pact with a former colleague of hers, Jedrel Jhaksinn, who as you know was convicted of espionage with the Drule Empire. They were plotting against me, to undermine my reforms and gain power for themselves. Cyann's allegiance, I discovered tragically, was to herself alone."

            "That's bull, you're just saying that because she double-crossed you back!" Jeff shouted. "Cyann knew what you were up to, and she wanted no part of it! Aldran wants to disband Voltron, General Kruger!" he appealed to the other man. "He gave Commander Hawkins the orders tonight." He held up the brief Aldran had given Hawkins.

            "Disband Voltron?" General Kruger's bushy eyebrows shot up. "You never discussed this with us, Space Marshal."

            "Not disband, General," Aldran assured him, shooting a brief dagger's glare toward Jeff. "I merely meant to reorganize the teams."

            "Reorganize them in what way?" Kruger folded his hands over his massive chest. He was a head taller than Aldran, though not so large around the belly. "I know you've never held much faith in what you refer to as the 'old technology,' Aldran, but that is an opinion we do not share. The Voltron robots were designed by King Alfor of Arus, one of the greatest engineers of our time--and a personal friend of mine. I believed in him, and his ideas. And so does the rest of the Board. Those two robots have been our best defense against the forces that would have split apart the Alliance since you were a mere cadet. I am surprised that you'd let your prejudice for modern methods blind you to the fact that those robots are the only reason the Alliance still exists for you to preside over!"

            Aldran looked taken aback.

            "And I am also surprised, Space Marshal," Kruger went on, taking the papers that Hawkins handed him, "that you would presume to make this kind of decision when you and I both know that it is written in our directive--a directive that you yourself signed--that Voltron can only be disbanded by a unanimous vote from the Board, as well as the leaders of every planet under our charter!"

            Jeff and Ginger exchanged a glance of amazement. Could it be--Aldran, the master bureaucrat--caught in his own trap?

            "Obsolete fools," Aldran spat, emotion seeping through his steel reserve. "Times are different--"

            "On the contrary, to use your words," Kruger interrupted silkily, "I believe that things are very much the same. That directive was created by the founders of the Alliance to prevent exactly what you have attempted to do. It seems there is still much to credit in the old ways."

            Kruger reached for his personal commlink and switched it on. "General Colvin? Kruger here. I am calling an emergency meeting of the directors, regarding the new reforms. Alert the others." He gave Aldran a loathing glance. "And summon security to my coordinates."

            A security team arrived promptly to escort Kruger and Aldran to the Board room for the impromptu meeting. Kruger thanked Hawkins, Jeff and Ginger for their hard work and promised to get in touch with them after the meeting ended. Hawkins then excused himself, telling them to get some rest.

            But Jeff saw his own restlessness reflected in Ginger's eyes, and knew that neither of them would be able to sleep until all this was over. So he suggested they head to the cafeteria for coffee and a bite to eat.

            "Sounds good to me," Ginger said, drawing a hand through her tumbled curls, making them uncharacteristically tousled. "I could use a stiff drink."

            When they were seated in a cozy booth, with their beverages a few small snacks, neither of them knew what to say at first. At this hour, the cafeteria was almost deserted; only the hardiest and most workaholic of the daytime officers were still going, and night staff was still awaiting their first break. Jeff sipped his coffee silently, brooding, while Ginger downed her whisky soda in one gulp and picked at her French fries.

            A full five minutes passed before either spoke. "I'll say it first," Ginger said. "I wonder what's happening on Arus."

            Jeff's brow furrowed, but he did not reply.

            "I mean," Ginger was obviously trying to fill the awkward silence, "I hope everything is all right."

            Still Jeff made no reply.

            She regarded him with concern, her fries forgotten. "What's wrong with you now?" she asked in a low tone. "Jeff?"

            "I can't believe we made it," he said finally. 

            "To get Aldran, you mean?"

            "Yeah."

            Ginger propped her chin on one hand. "I know." She picked up a fry and began dousing it liberally in ketchup. She looked tired. "It's like, the first thing to go right for us since . . ."

            "Since all this began," finished Jeff, taking another sip.

            Another long silence.

            Ginger looked up with a sigh. "I think I'm going to get another drink. You want one? You look like you could use it."

            Jeff shrugged into his coffee. Ginger took that as a 'yes' and headed to the bar, returning a minute later. "Drink up," she said, tossing hers back.

            As she swallowed, coughing slightly as the liquor burned down her throat, she noticed Jeff looking at her with an odd expression. "What?"

            "I didn't know you drank whisky."

            "I don't, normally," she replied. "But in these circumstances I think it's justified."

            Their eyes met. 

            "I don't drink it much, either," Jeff said, reaching for the other glass and took a swig."Yikes, this doesn't taste like a whisky soda." He made a face but managed to stifle a cough.

            "It's straight. I thought we could use it."

            "You're going to get sloshed, Ginger."

            "Maybe, maybe not. Either is fine with me." Her face was flushed, and for the first time he noticed how pale her skin was, how her freckles burned like bright stars on her exhausted face. 

            Abruptly he looked away. _Get a grip, Jeff, honestly, at a time like this . . _. _ He took another swig to mask the sudden warmth in his cheeks. The whole scene had a note of unreality. Their entire way of life hung in the balance; whatever happened in the next hour or so might change their lives forever. And yet here he was, sitting in a bar with a fellow pilot--no, with Ginger--downing whisky and pretending they hadn't already been through more than enough to be beyond this awkwardness . . ._

            He realized that Ginger was trying to get his attention. "What is it?"

            "How long has it been since we left Arus?"

            Jeff looked at his watch, which was still set to Arus time. He did a few calculations. They'd flown back at warp speed, taxing their Alpha-One engines a bit, but it had paid off. A journey that had taken them three days one way (with rest stops) had taken only four hours, nonstop. But considering what they had left behind, it seemed a huge gulf of time. 

            "Almost five hours, why?"

            Ginger looked down at the tabletop. "We should check in. Who knows--" she cut off the sentence; there was no need to finish it, after all.

            It could all be over by now.

~Arus~

_For a time she lay there, believing herself dead...or at least very near. She was barely breathing, there was something heavy weighing down her chest...it was only a matter of time...there was nothing to be done, she knew that...She wasn't sure what had happened, death was already fogging her memory, not that it mattered. Her time was up, it was all over, and she was so tired . . . so damn tired . . . of all this . . ._

-~Earth~

            Jeff and Ginger were just rising from their booth when a security officer approached them.

            "Captain Castle, Lieutenant Cameron," he acknowledged them both with a salute, "I have been asked to escort you to General Kruger's chambers for an immediate audience.

            Jeff and Ginger locked gazes. The meeting was over. This was it.

            "Lead the way, corporal," said Jeff, having noticed the man's designation. 

            As the officer led them back toward Kruger's offices, Jeff felt his heart pounding almost audibly. It felt as though he had been waiting years for this, and perhaps he had. Still so hard to believe a week ago he'd been blissfully ignorant of all this. The world had taken a decidedly darker turn of late.

            The security guard left them at the entrance to Kruger's main office. With one last bracing glance at Ginger, who was looking a little perkier, they entered.

            Kruger sat behind his desk, reading something intently with a frown on his face.

            "General," Jeff began, giving a salute that Ginger mirrored. "What did the Board decide?"

            Kruger looked up, and the expression on his face made Jeff stomach drop like a stone. "I'm afraid we were interrupted before we could come to a full decision. Aldran has been placed in detention until further notice, but right now we have a more serious problem. We have lost contact with Planet Arus."

            "What?!" Jeff's voice rose a pitch.

            "We attempted to contact Captain Miller at the Castle of Lions, where I understand she is being detained. But we were unable to establish a connection, and when we checked our surveillance map, the Planet had disappeared."

            "How can a planet just disappear?!" Ginger's voice held a tinge of hysteria.

            "I doubt the planet has vanished, Lieutenant Cameron. I believe we have simply lost radio contact. Do either of you know how this could have happened?"

            Again Jeff and Ginger's eyes met, this time in horror. "No, General," Jeff replied slowly, "but I think we'd better check it out right away. Is there a way we can get a visual image from a satellite?"

            "Yes, there is. In fact, I was just on my way when I realized that you two might want to be present."

            "Yes," Ginger said breathlessly, swallowing hard.

            As they made their way to the main communications center, Ginger whispered to Jeff, "Oh my god, what could have happened now? We shouldn't have gone!"

            "Let's not panic just yet," Jeff replied between clenched teeth, though panicking was exactly what he felt like doing. "It could have been a simple malfunction, or . . ."

            "Something a lot worse," Ginger finished. "Jeff . . . do you remember what Cyann told us about--"

            But she never finished the sentence; they had reached their destination, and Kruger was barking out coordinates to the sleepy cadet on duty.

            The immense viewscreen that Galaxy Garrison used for official conferences with leaders of Alliance planets sprang to life, showing first a nondescript-looking patch of space. It then zoomed in several times until a pale periwinkle planet was visible: Arus.

            Beside Jeff, Ginger breathed an audible sigh of relief that the planet hadn't actually disappeared.

            "There's been no space battle," Kruger said thoughtfully to no one in particular, scanning the image. "Ion scan, Ensign!" Pause. "Quite a lot of ion trails still visible though; there's been activity in the past day or two in the near vicinity of the planet."

            "When the boys went to get Allura," Jeff heard Ginger whisper to herself.

            The image zoomed in a few more times, until a familiar continent, then countryside, became visible. "Show me the Castle of Lions," Kruger ordered.

            When the familiar image appeared, everyone gasped.

            "No!" cried Ginger, her hand flying to her lips.

            "Good god!" rasped Kruger.

            Where the Castle of Lions had stood, there was only a smokened, blackened shell.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .


	5. Author's Note

AUTHOR'S NOTE TO THE FAITHFUL READERS:

I know I'm evil. I admit it.

I'm sorry the cliffhangers are so agonizing...they weren't intentional...just good stopping points. But I have to keep you guys interested somehow! :)

(And for the record, I'm terribly flattered that so many of you are!)

For those who have asked, yes, the end is in sight. And yes, the Muse is very helpful thesedays, bless her. The final chapter (yes you heard that right) is on its way, and should be much shorter than the rest. However...in all fairness…

Brace yourselves.

--Cyanne


	6. A New Eternity

DISCLAIMER: VOLTRON AND ITS CHARACTERS ARE THE PROPERTY OF WORLD EVENTS PRODUCTIONS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I DO NOT OWN THEM AND I AM NOT RECEIVING PROFIT FOR THIS STORY. 

AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION

            Well, here we are. This is it. The ninth inning. The final quarter. The swan song. The end of my epic. What some faithful readers (including me) have been waiting for for almost five years. Please excuse me if I get a bit weepy.

            First off, I want to thank everyone who's ever read this story, especially those who saw it in its infancy; I hope some of you are reading this, and I'm sorry to make you wait so long. But I told you I'd get here someday!

             This story has been more than a labor of love for me; it has taken on a life of its own. Even when I wasn't writing, "Small Eternities" breathed inside me, waiting patiently to be cut loose. I confess to being sad to see it go.

            Secondly, no death threats, please! I've known for years how the story ended; it was just recently that I figured out how it got there. I could no more change it than I could rewrite history. Be a responsible reader and prepare yourself.

SMALL ETERNITIES: FINAL CHAPTER

A NEW ETERNITY

By Cyanne (Saturn Girl)

~One Year Later~

            Princess Allura sat at her mirrored dressing table, staring at her reflection in wonder. The waiting was over. This was the day, the one she'd been waiting for since she was a little girl, although not in these precise circumstances. Strange how, after all that had happened, she could still recognize herself in the mirror. It would have seemed more appropriate to see a stranger gazing back at her, someone she was just beginning to know. But aside from a certain narrowness to the face, the result of a year's worth of hard work and training, her own bright eyes blinked back at her, the same tendrils of golden hair curled around her face in the new, shorter style she'd become used to. The outfit was different, of course, not pink but white, and she wore more makeup than usual. But she was still Allura, crown princess of Arus, still ready to take on the universe at its beckoning.

            Restlessly, she felt she should be doing something other than this during these last few moments to herself. Any moment now they would be knocking at her door; she should smooth her hair, dab more color on her lips, take a last look at her childhood surroundings before she left them behind forever. But instead she sat in front of her mirror, staring at herself, trying to read the changes in her face and finding none.

            She glanced at the clock, to distract herself. The ceremony was due to begin in fifteen minutes. _Shouldn't I be nervous?_ she wondered. _Palms sweating? Crying? Something?_ But she had never felt so cool and calm in her life. Even after all this time, it didn't seem fair, to be so unaffected by everything. But then, the events of last year had had a way of drying up almost everything emotional that remained within her.

            She carefully censored her thoughts from venturing any further in that direction. It had been hard, but she had trained herself not to think about what had happened as a tragedy. Thinking like that made it difficult to get up in the morning, to take care of what needed to be done. She knew better than that, now. She'd learned to focus on the present.

            After six months of rebuilding, the Castle of Lions was finally whole once more. The hole that had been ripped in the east tower had been repaired, the damage to the computers and outer defenses had been patched, and a new, reinforced plating had been applied to the exterior. The horrible image of the Castle aflame, crumbling before their eyes, was only a memory now. Now the Castle literally shone, reflecting its old glory in the summer sunlight. They had been broken, but not beaten. 

            _I can offer myself as proof of that_, she thought, reaching to touch her shoulder length locks. Everyone had been so shocked when she'd cut it off (she could still hear Nanny's wail: "Princesses do _not_ have short hair!"). But once it was done, Allura knew it had been the right thing to do. Princesses were supposed to have long, flowing hair; pilots on the other hand, kept it relatively short so it fit underneath helmets. And the pilot and the princess had finally parted ways. 

            The knock came, startling her. "Come in."

            Right on schedule, it was Lance, crisp and clean in his dress uniform. "Ready for the big day?" he asked softly.

            Allura took one last look in the mirror and nodded. "I'm ready." She rose and faced him, then stopped short at the expression on his face. "Lance, what is it?"

            He was looking at her so oddly, searching her face much as she had just been doing. 

            "Lance?"

            He blinked a few times and collected himself. "Nothing. You look beautiful."

            "Thank you." 

            "Shall we?" He offered his right arm, the one that had been injured. He'd only recently been cleared to fly with it. She took it, gingerly.

            Lance and Allura made their way out into the hallway, their footsteps echoing only faintly against the now-constant sounds of reconstruction. In addition to the repairs, Allura had ordered the entire Castle restructured and reinforced to prevent such damage from ever occurring again. The near-destruction of the Castle had been as much of a shock to the people of Arus as it had been to the Voltron Force; their sovereign was determined that they were never to be so frightened again. The Castle of Lions would always stand strong for them from now on.

            As they walked, Allura discreetly watched Lance out of the corner of her eye. Like everyone, he'd emerged from the crisis somewhat worse for the wear. Allura thought he looked thinner, but then again it was hard to tell with Lance; he'd always been reed-slim, despite his normal boyish appetite. How had the past year affected him? She'd been so busy, she'd had no time to see how the loss was affecting her teammates. 

            "How's your arm?" she asked, to break the silence.

            She expected him to scoff, as was his way. But he seemed to consider the question seriously. Lance's right arm had been crushed against a wall when the Castle was hit. There had been multiple fractures; for a while, they had been afraid he'd lose it, but Lance's body seemed as capable of rebuilding itself as the Castle of Lions. _We are all healing better than we thought we could,_ she thought.

            "A little achy today, actually," Lance replied, sounding concerned. "It's weird; Dr. Gorma said it's completely healed, but when I woke up this morning, it began to hurt again."

            Allura had to bite down on her lip. It was suddenly hard to keep her emotions in check. She'd also felt pain upon waking today, but it had not been a pain she could locate in any one body part. It was almost as if her soul ached. But she could not think of that now.

            The ceremony was to be held at the Lion Monument, a section of the Castle Gardens dedicated to King Alfor and his lion creations. It was nearly noon, the air warm and dry; the Arusian summer was waning. It was only to be a small gathering, just Allura's closest friends. As she and Lance approached the group, they stood up straighter, immaculate in their white dress uniforms, identical to the one Lance wore. She smiled at her guests from Galaxy Garrison, Jeff and Ginger, who had arrived from Earth the previous night, then her smile faded as she remembered the one who was missing.

            Cyann's punishment for her involvement with Aldran had been harsh. She had been found guilty of second-degree treason and conspiracy, stripped of her rank, and sentenced to ten years exile outside the boundaries of the Alliance. Upon return, she could never work for Galaxy Garrison again. The Space Marshal's sentence had been even more severe. He was found guilty of high treason and conspiracy, and also stripped of his rank and exiled. However, his exile was to be permanent. And the penalty for violation of criminal exile was death. The man could never set foot on an Alliance planet again. 

            Cyann had had one week to settle her affairs, including one visit, via the long-range comm, to say goodbye to her friends on Arus, before she was deported. Though Allura could not argue with Garrison politics regarding this level of crime, she still wished that Cyann could have been there to witness the ceremony. Despite all that had happened, Allura knew Cyann would have wanted to be present.

            In the center of the garden, surrounded by statues of the five Lions, a dais had been constructed. Koran was waiting for her there. Lance let go of Allura as she reached the steps, and Ginger stepped forward to clasp her hand; he two women exchanged a brief smile. Then Allura ascended alone.

            "Koran," she said, touching him lightly on the arm.

            The old man smiled and turned at the sound of her voice, but his eyes gazed sightlessly beyond her. Allura squeezed his arm. Koran had recovered from his stroke, but at a price.

            "Are you ready, my dear?" he whispered to her.

            "Yes," said Allura. 

            Koran cleared his throat and faced the crowd, though he could not see them. "I thank you all for being here. We have gathered you together to witness the birth of a new union, a union that will safeguard our planet and our peace in this new era."

            He faced Allura. "Do you, Princess Allura Azhura Alielyonne, come here of your own free will to accept the position of pilot of Black Lion and commander-in-chief of the Voltron Force?"

            "I do."

            "Do you swear to fight honorably and valiantly in the name of your late father, King Alfor, and of the Planet Arus?"

            "I do."

            "Do you swear to uphold the proper conduct befitting an officer of the Galaxy Alliance?"

            "I do."

            "Do you swear to protect the innocent and the brave, and fight for universal freedom?"

            "I do."

            "Then I, Koran, on behalf of the Royal House of Alielyonne, do hereby present you with the key to the Black Lion, and with it, the secret--and the heart--of Voltron."

            Allura bent on one knee, then rose and accepted the key that Koran held out.

            "Members of the Voltron Force," Koran went on, gesturing for Allura to turn and face the crowd, "I present to you your captain: Captain Allura Alielyonne!"

~Later~

            Allura knelt on the grass, which was warm under her knees. It was so peaceful here, in the waning summer sunlight, that she wished she did not have to go back to Castle that night, that she could stay here, and sleep under the stars as she had when she was a little girl. But tonight was the formal ceremony, in front of the people, that would recognize her as captain of the Voltron Force and pilot of Black Lion. 

            Allura had excused herself as soon as the garden ceremony was over, with the explanation that she wanted time to prepare for the public ceremony. But in reality, she had a private rite of her own to perform.

            Allura listened to the soft sound the wind made as it stirred the grasses surrounding her. It was that perfect moment between afternoon and evening, when the sky was still bright, but the breezes were cooling slightly, and the night birds were just beginning to stir. She'd always loved this time of day, when you could smell the change in the air, and the world seemed to hold itself still. She lifted the flowers she had brought to her face, inhaling the heady scent. Then she spoke the words.

            "To my captain, to my friend, to my love," she began in the hushed summer stillness. "To you, Keith."

            And she set the flowers on the grave.

            She had let herself cry only once since it happened, but suddenly, her eyes were spilling over without her conscious acknowledgement. Still, she kept her head bowed and continued.

            "You once told me that a soldier must be prepared to lay down his life for his cause, that he should find fulfillment in that and nothing more. You are my cause, Keith, and in your memory I will be prepared." 

            She paused, and reached out to caress the weathered stone, only a year old, yet already worn. She traced the words, in English and the ancient Arusian script, that spelled out Keith's full name.

            She'd insisted that he be buried on Arus, citing that he'd had no family on Earth to claim his remains. But in truth, she wanted him near her; it was her one consolation that now, no one would take him from her. Had he survived, he would have had to return to Galaxy Garrison; his contract with them would not expire for several years. Though she would have much preferred losing Keith to Galaxy Garrison than to this, he had died for Arus, and on Arus he would remain. No one had argued with her; it had been obvious to all where Keith's heart had belonged.

            From the inner pocket of her uniform, Allura removed a many-times-folded leaf of paper. Keith's last words to her had been wrapped around the key to the Black Lion, slipped into her pocket as they spoke what would become their last words to each other in the hangar. She'd found it a month later, and only then did she remember it happening. She'd read it so many times now that she had it memorized, but it was comforting to keep it with her; it made things less scary and new, to always have Keith's blessings near her heart. 

            But this was not Keith. This was only a stone, stuck in the ground. She'd come to the wrong place to make peace with his memory. Her Keith would not have been confined to an ornate monument. She needed to look elsewhere to find his blessing for what she was about to undertake. She needed to be closer to _him_, on this most important of days. And there was only one place she could find that, the one place that would forever harbor his soul.

            Black Lion.

            It was so much bigger inside than the Blue Lion, so much more equipment, so much more to monitor and control. It was no small responsibility she had taken on that afternoon. In addition to being larger than the other lions, the Black Lion was capable, once they had formed Voltron, of operating each lion's individual offenses and defenses, something Allura had learned the hard way many years ago; she smiled faintly to recall the incident.  She had only just recovered from a bad fall in the Blue Lion, and they had been surprised during practice by a sudden skirmish with Lotor. Worried for her safety, Keith had used his privilege and remotely switched off her lion controls, saying she was still too injured to fly. How indignant she had been! 

            _Indignant? More like livid, and on the verge of crying like the little girl I was._        She knew now that Keith had realized that Lotor would be targeting her, and didn't want her to reinjure herself or risk capture by participating in combat before she was fully healed, but at the time she'd been furious. Lotor had ended up capturing her anyway, and she'd had a chance to prove herself, but she had learned something about Keith that day. The safety of his teammates sometimes meant more to him than making the right call in a tense situation. She knew that he'd torn himself apart when she'd been captured. But in his place, she knew she'd have done the same.

            Keith had told her many times, in many different ways over the years, that being a captain was a much harder job than she thought. You had to think in both the present and the future, to be able to foresee things that hadn't happened and plan for them if they did. You had to make unpopular--and sometimes unbearable--decisions, deal with the possibility of outright mutiny from your subordinates, and be strong enough to hold your own and keep them with you. You had to be fearless, and also take responsibility for your actions, and those of your team. Someone had to.

            _And now that someone is me._

_            Allura_,

                        _I'm sorry to write this in secret, while you sleep, but there's something I've been meaning to say to you since I returned to Arus. Forgive me for waiting so long to say this; I keep waiting for the right moment, for it to be special. But with all that's happened, I'm running out of time, and I don't want to run the risk that these words might remain unsaid. _

_                        Remember all those times you asked me to train you in Black Lion? And I always brushed you off? I know those words sounded harsh, but I hope you can understand now why I had to say them, when so much time has passed, and you have grown so much. You were so eager to learn then, I longed to teach you, but I knew it wasn't time. I don't know how I knew; if I call it captain's instinct you'll pout your lips and think I'm patronizing you. I guess I'm good at that. But I want you to hear (or rather see) these words from me now._

_                        What I have seen you accomplish--as a pilot, as a leader, as yourself--in the past day has removed all doubt from my mind. You have changed, Allura, but the essential core of _you_ has remained--and for that I am glad. You have displayed every skill a good captain should have, and then some. I was in awe of you. I still am._

_                        When all this is over, I want permission to train you in Black Lion, if I still have that right (I'm sure Sven will understand). I think you know that I can't stay on Arus, at least not for now; I have responsibilities to the other Voltron Force. And you have all moved beyond the point where I am needed. You have become a coherent Force of your own, and for that I am proud of you beyond words._

_Words also cannot convey the honor and gratitude I feel in being allowed the privilege of serving with you and the rest of the Voltron Force. It has been the greatest experience of my life. As for what you yourself have given me, Allura, I can only hope you can read my mind, for there are no words._

_                        I think I've rambled on long enough. You'll wake up soon, and I want to be done with this so I can give all my attention to you. I hope I will be able to say these words to you in person, instead of letting you merely read them._

_                                                                                                            Keith_

            She now knew that the strange energy she had felt before Keith took off had been a warning, a warning from deep within, a primal intuition that they were standing on a precipice, and with a single move they could plunge into the darkness. She had ignored the feeling, chosen not to think about what was coming next; it was in the hands of Fate, after all. Or was that just an excuse? Had she been too afraid to contemplate the fact that she might never see him again?

            _Fate . . . or fear? Which of them has been moving us all along?_ _Is that why all this has happened—because we were too frightened to choose? To recognize the signs and confront them?_

            Allura's fingers tightened around the paper; helpless grief was stirring, the childish urge to wail and curse the beings that had taken Keith away from her. She'd worked so hard to suppress it, to behave bravely and not go to pieces--because Keith wouldn't have. He would have kept on going, no matter how much he hurt inside, because he _had_ to. Someone _had_ to carry on. 

            _She_ was that someone.

            Now that she was alone again, truly alone--as she hadn't been in her bedroom where everyone knew where she was, or in the graveyard, where the elements could witness her pain--she could open the floodgates. She'd waited a whole year for this; she knew it was important to let her feelings out. To bottle up her grief would only make it harder to bear. She'd waited until after the ceremony, after she had seen all her friends, and they had seen her and been assured she was okay. Now was _her_ time, her time to remember . . .and to grieve . . .

_            She'd been walking back to the Control room, focusing on each step so as not to think about what they were taking her away from. She'd reached the secondary corridor that led to the main corridor, two hundred feet from the Control Room door--when she'd heard the horrible sound, and the Castle rocked beneath her. She'd stumbled . . . something hit her . . . and the next thing she remembered, she was looking at the sky._

_            It hadn't seemed odd at first. As a child, she had often lain outside, watching the stars rise and then set. Now, she was watching them set. Dawn was fast approaching; the sky was a brilliant periwinkle, darkening to aqua as the sun, Leonis, approached the horizon. _

_            Then she realized she wasn't lying on the grass beside the Castle; the surface beneath her was hard and cold. She was lying on her side, and she hurt. Especially her head._

_            Something pricked her eye. She blinked, lifted a hand to protect herself, and felt wetness. Was she crying? No, her fingers came away scarlet. She was bleeding._

_            It was then that awareness had come back fully. She remembered where she was, and pushed herself to her feet, shaking with fear and shock. Something had happened, something bad, she had to get to the others . . . She stumbled to the Control Room door_; _when it swooshed open as it always had, she had almost cried._

_            She had found the others, bruised and bleeding as she was. Lance had been thrown against the wall, and was cradling a broken arm. Cyann sat a few feet away, looking dazed, holding a bleeding shoulder where she'd been hit by a piece of debris. Hunk's face was caked with dust; Pidge's glasses were gone, his naked eyes wide with fear. Sven had been pinned beneath a large chunk of crumbling ceiling; he was severely injured, but alive. Hunk and Pidge were in the process of trying to lift the heavy stone off him. Surrounding them was destruction._

_            When he saw her, Lance had cried out her name. She'd learned later that she had presented quite a frightful picture; pale as a ghost, and bleeding from a huge gash in her forehead. For a moment, they'd almost believed they were seeing an apparition. They kept asking her if she was okay; she kept asking if Keith was okay. She tried several times before she realized they weren't answering._

_            It was then she had seen the tears in their eyes._

_            She didn't remember when she'd heard the story; if it had been Lance or Dr. Gorma, or Cyann who told her the news. The news that Lotor had not waited for Keith to meet him in the air. He had begun attacking the Castle immediately. When Keith had realized what was happening, he had tried to steer his Alpha-One directly in Lotor's path, to force a confrontation. But Lotor was already too close to the Castle to fire on him without damaging the structure . . . So Keith had done the only thing he could do, tried to ram Lotor's ship away from the Castle with his own ship. It was a risky move. Neck and neck, the two ships sped toward the Castle. Keith had waited for the right moment, then wham! He rammed Lotor's ship hard, at an angle designed to send it careening away._

_            But then Lotor's ship had exploded. By the state of the wreckage discovered, they found that Lotor had burned up his engines in an effort to beat Keith to the Castle; the overtaxed ship had exploded from too much pressure. _

_            And Keith's Alpha-One, only ten feet away from Lotor's larger ship at the time of the explosion, had been engulfed . . ._

            Allura had taken the news quietly. No fainting fit, screaming or sobbing. She had simply listened, nodded, and bowed her head. She had taken a few deep breaths. Then she had looked up and suggested they had better get Sven to Dr. Gorma. And they needed to check on Koran, still unconscious in the medical bay. And once that was done, they'd have to find out if everyone else was okay: Nanny, the castle staff and servants . . . And then a salvage team would have to be deployed the search the wreckage for survivors, however unlikely . . .

            _There was so much to be done . . . someone had to take charge._

            That was how she'd gotten through that day, hour by hour, keeping herself busy and occupied with seeing to the welfare of others. Having people to take care of kept her from acknowledging her own wound. If anyone asked how she was doing, if she needed anything, she changed the subject. She'd accepted a towel for her bleeding forehead (from another chunk of ceiling that had fallen when the sky opened up above her) but refused all else. Her needs could be put on hold for now . . . for a while . . . perhaps indefinitely.

            Now, sitting in the Black Lion, fists clenched, Allura knew she could wait no longer; the weight of the burden she'd been carrying was pressing down on her. She felt the ache of her loss; it bent her double in the pilot's seat, crying tears that almost choked her. Her heart finally shrieked her pain, her agony, her despair, all the emotions she'd been forced to subdue those long months. She made no sound, but in Keith's Lion-- now her Lion--she mourned his death with every cell in her body.

            She didn't know how long it had been when her breath returned to her, and she was able to sit up, scrub the tears off her face, feel her pounding heart return to normal. Though it could only have been a few minutes, she found she was surprised to find herself still sitting in the Black Lion. She felt exhausted, but cleansed. The suffocating anger at what had happened had been bled out of her. She would not nurse hatred; she would not curse Fate. She would simply go on, because she could. Because being strong was the only thing left to do.

            __

            "Allura?"

            She started out of her reverie at the sound of Sven's voice. He was leaning over the open hatch, which she'd forgotten to close, looking concerned.

            "Are you all right?" he asked in his quiet way.

            "Yes, yes, I am, now," Allura answered, reaching up to wipe the residue of her tears away. "I'm sorry, I know it's not really my Lion yet--"

            "It most certainly is," Sven countered, easing himself gingerly into cockpit. He was still quite sore from the injuries he had sustained during the collapse. "The Black Lion has been yours ever since you started training in it."

            Allura stared at him in confusion. Sven permitted himself a small pained smile.

            "You didn't know that Keith made a few special modifications to the Black Lion?" he asked. "Such as safety precautions as to who was enabled to fly it?"

            "What?" Allura was taken aback. "I know he would hardly let anyone aside from him near it, but I didn't know he went that far. How long have you known?"

            "He explained it to me before I took over as captain," Sven explained. "He said it had begun as a simple safety catch, in case his Lion was stolen by Doom--or by anyone else."

            Allura felt a blush of chagrin as she recalled the one time _she_ had attempted to fly the Black Lion without telling anyone. She remembered very well how angry Keith had been.

            "He did that because of me?" she asked sheepishly.

            "Not specifically because of you. But that incident," and Sven had obviously heard about it, "made him think. Should someone try to steal the Lion, he didn't want it to respond to them. He programmed it to request a special code at startup that only he knew. However, he realized that he had to have a backup access code in an emergency situation. In short, he programmed access codes for both me and you."

            "For me?" Allura blurted. "Way back then? In those days he barely let me near the thing!"

            Sven smiled again, remembering fondly. "He would barely let _me_ near it; he was quite protective, but with good reason: the Black Lion holds the secret of Voltron. He didn't want anyone else to be able to exploit his Lion--or Voltron--into attacking anyone."

            "But why _me_?" Allura pressed. "You, I understand. He trusted you, you were his second-in-command. But I had just begun to pilot when that happened. How could he have known that I would ever get good enough--" She stopped, putting a hand to her mouth as disobedient tears filled her eyes again. "No, it's not possible."

            Sven nodded seriously. "Yes it is. Did you never wonder why he drove you so hard?"

            "I thought it was because I hadn't trained at the Academy like the rest of you."

            "Well, partly, yes. But he also wanted you to realize your potential."

            "No," Allura said, her mind rebelling. "If you'd told me he did it because I was the ruler of Arus and had a right to Voltron's secret, I'd believe you. But this..." Words failed her. For so many years she'd brainwashed herself into believing she was inferior to the team, and had worked that much harder because of it. But to hear, _now_, that Keith had always believed in her potential, even when _she _hadn't, was almost too much to bear. __

            Sven fell silent as he noticed her reaction. "Does it bother you to hear this? I thought he would have told you."

            "He did," Allura whispered, fighting for control. "In a way, he did. But I didn't realize..."

            _He couldn't have--oh, he couldn't have anticipated--_

            She had to look away from Sven to hide her emotion. 

            "Was I wrong to tell you?" Sven sounded genuinely concerned.

            "No, it's just . . . it's been quite a day."

            "That it has. Speaking of which, allow me convey my deepest respect and salutations to my new commander." In an attempt to lighten the mood, he gave a Galaxy Garrison salute followed by a courtly bow.

            It was such an absurd sight, that the laugh bubbled out of Allura before she knew it was coming. "Don't start! I'll never be able to keep a straight face. Keith didn't make you do that, did he?"

            "I daresay he would have been insulted. He'd have thought I was mocking him."

            That certainly sounded like Keith. "Well," she replied, turning serious again, "you don't have to bow to me anymore. I've made my choice."

            Sven nodded. "With respect--sir," he added pointedly, "I was sent to fetch you. Koran would like you to begin preparing for the ceremony."

            Allura rose out of the pilot's seat and stretched the stiffness out of her body. "All right, I'm going. Lead me to the altar, I'm ready to be sacrificed."

            Sven smiled at her jest, but his eyes remained serious and sad. Like everyone else who knew her well, he was both awed and unnerved by the change in Princess Allura since the accident; her joking words about sacrifice had a bitter tinge that still stung. _She's been through so much already, he thought. __Whatever else the universe has in store for her should be simple in comparison._

            Allura had finished dressing for the public ceremony and was going over the speech she had prepared when there was another knock at her door. "Come in," she called.

            It was Nanny, looking a little older and somewhat anxious. "Princess, I am sorry to interrupt, but you simply must come with me. She's crying again."

            Thoughts of the speech and tonight's ceremony flew out of Allura's head. "I'm coming."

            She followed Nanny out the door and down the hallway to what had been her childhood playroom, now transformed into a nursery. With every step she took, Allura felt a calmness spreading over her. The thought of what awaited her in the next room pushed everything else she had been through that day to the backburner. This was a part of herself that had been untouched by the tragedy; this was an oasis within the desert of suffering she had endured. She was not Captain Alielyonne here; she was just Allura. And that was enough. Her general weariness from the events of the day were already renewing with a fresh burst of energy. 

            The source of that energy was whimpering plaintively in the elaborate cradle draped in satin. Two ladies-in-waiting were standing by, looking harried.

            "She's been fussy all day, Your Majesty," one of them stammered.

            Allura was at the cradle in a heartbeat, scooping the three-month-old infant into her arms and holding her tightly. "Oh, sweetie, it's okay, everything's okay. I'm here, honey." Cuddling the baby girl to her breast, she turned back to Nanny, gently rocking back and forth. The infant's cries quieted almost instantly. "I should have known all this commotion today would upset her. She's restless from all this activity. Maybe it would be better if we left her out of the ceremony tonight. She's so young."

            "We cannot, Your Majesty," Nanny said stubbornly. "Lyona--

            "Princess Lyona," her mother corrected.

            "--is your heir and she must be recognized, whether or not--" the matronly nurse stopped herself.

            Allura gave Nanny the faintest of frowns, still absorbed in cosseting Lyona. "I thought this discussion was over, Nanny."

            The older woman looked ready to protest, but something in Allura's eyes stopped her. "I will not discuss this any further, Nanny," Allura said, her soft tone hardened with an edge of steel. "Her father may not have been a prince, but I will not have her legitimacy called into question. And that is that."

            "I did not mean it that way," Nanny explained, looking hurt. "I only meant that for that very reason it is doubly important for her to be presented this evening. Arus must know its new Princess."

            Allura met her nurse's eyes in a silent gesture of thanks. "Forgive me, Nanny; I'm not myself today."

            "No, indeed, I hardly recognize you," the other woman replied softly. "You're not my little girl anymore."

            Allura smiled at her old nurse. "Don't be so melancholy; you've got a brand-new little girl to spoil right here."

            Someone discreetly cleared their throat. Allura turned to see Hunk, Pidge, Lance and Sven standing in the doorway to the nursery, looking nervous at this threshold of feminine power. "Is it time?" she asked, nodding for them to enter.

            Lance nodded, straightening his unruly hair. "Finally, yes. How's Her Royal Highness?"

            "Restless. I think she knows something's going on tonight."

            "Probably wants to be in the thick of it, like her old man," Hunk grinned. Though he loved children, he was generally nervous around babies. But he adored Lyona as much as everyone else did. "No sitting on the sidelines for her."

            Allura grinned back and surrendered baby Lyona to Nanny, reaching out once to stroke her daughter's tear-stained, petal-like cheek. Every time, it was hard to leave her. 

            Lyona, already used to visits from the Voltron Force, blinked her big brown eyes sleepily. _Keith's eyes._ Allura felt the familiar pang in her throat, the one that threatened to overwhelm her every time she looked at her daughter.__

            _Their_ daughter.

            Her first morning sickness had come roughly three months after the crash. She hadn't known what it was; she'd attributed it to exhaustion stemming from working day and night to repair the damage that Lotor's ship had done to the Castle. She'd been working so hard to keep her pain at bay; it was not until she'd fainted one afternoon that anyone had noticed how tired she was. When Dr. Gorma told her she was pregnant she hadn't believed him at first. She had been afraid to. It was too much to hope for; she believed she had none left.

            Then she had cried, really cried for the first time since Keith's death, thanking every god and goddess she could think of. Keith was not to remain gone from her forever. This news, coupled with the note she had found in her pocket only a few weeks before, was the greatest blessing she could have received.

            Koran and Nanny were understandably shocked at first, but gradually came to accept and anticipate the approaching birth of Lyona. The Voltron Force's response had been more emotional; they too had been shaken by loss of their friend and captain, and the news that his child was to be born elicited mixed reactions. Pidge, even at nearly seventeen, had worked hard to conceal his tears. Hunk had not bothered. Lance had picked her up and swung her around joyously until Nanny shrieked concern for the unborn child. They had all hugged her and promised to take extra-good care of her until the baby was born.

            But despite her elation at her pregnancy, Allura had not let it stop her from asking Sven to begin training her in Black Lion. She was determined to fulfill Keith's final wish: to fly Black Lion and become captain in her own right. When her condition began to prevent her from flying, she read all she could on engineering, aerodynamics, flight strategy, technique, anything she thought might be useful; Lance, Hunk, Pidge and Sven had all recommended a few texts from their own training days. Once Lyona was born, as soon as she was able to get up and about, Allura had intensified her training and preparations. She would not sully Keith's memory with imperfection. She would do his spirit--and their daughter--proud.

            Now, the day had finally arrived. She was captain, by her own merits. She had completed the metamorphosis she had dreamed of.  And she had learned something important: it was necessary to survive, to endure the most paralyzing tragedy, in order to emerge all the stronger for it. Keith's endurance had been forged as a boy, losing his entire family in a sudden, unprovoked attack. It had hardened him; after that debilitating pain, nothing could have fazed him. He had grown into an incredible soldier because of it.

            Her own endurance had been forged not by his death, but by Lyona's birth. She had wondered, in a few, isolated, haunted moments during those first awful days, why she had not died in the collapse the Castle of Lions. Why that chunk of ceiling had only slashed her forehead and not shattered her skull. Why she had been the one to live while Keith had died.

            That answer was clear to her now.

            Keith had said he was in awe of her. Well, she would do all she could to be worthy of that honor, even if he was no longer there to bestow it upon her. He'd said he knew she had it in her, deep down. Well, she would prove that from this day forward. In his memory, she'd strive to fulfill his belief in her. She'd make him proud, even if it had to be beyond the grave.

            She knew that the ache of Keith's memory would never truly go away, just as the pain of losing her father never had, but she'd learn to function around it. She'd make herself stronger because of it, for Lyona. There was an Earth saying: _whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger._ __

_            Well, _Allura thought, _I'm not dead yet. And whatever comes next should be a cinch._

            And what memories she had! They'd dared to reach for their dreams; they'd worked hard, and been granted them. Briefly, they'd burned with the fire of a hundred stars. But there had been a price, and that was price was transience. They'd shared more than some couples had in a lifetime, but their own small eternity had been concentrated into a few short years. At the age of twenty-three, she'd known more passion than others her age dreamed of. And that was a precious gift.

            _I won't forget you, Keith_, Allura promised, taking one last look at their daughter's beautiful eyes._ From this day onward, all I do is in memory of what you have given me._

THE END


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